Coach: Chiefs need more than McKenzie magic
A championship-winning team needs a No 10 playing quality footy, but Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan has warned that Damian McKenzie can’t be solely relied upon to deliver his side the Super Rugby Pacific silverware.
The 40-test All Blacks playmaker has started the season in style, picking up where he left off from a brilliant campaign last year and guiding the 2023 runners-up to the top of the ladder after two rounds.
But as key as McKenzie is to the Chiefs’ hopes, that’s why, among any number of excellent performances in Sunday’s 46-12 thrashing of the Brumbies in the Super Round Melbourne, McMillan was buoyed most by the display of Josh Ioane off the bench.
The weekend before, Ioane, who notched one test for the All Blacks in 2019, had been thrust into action early in the second half of the 33-29 win over the Crusaders in Hamilton when McKenzie was forced off with a rib injury. And while he kicked two crucial penalty goals, there were several errors which marred his*game as the visitors stormed back into the contest.
Fast forward nine days and Ioane played the final quarter after replacing Shaun Stevenson, with McKenzie shifting to fullback. And after scoring with an early touch when surging on to some quick ball, he set up the next try with a dummy and offload, and showed off a fine long kicking game, in a much more assured showing.
So much so that it was enough for McMillan to name-drop him in the post-match press conference when the chat veered towards how impressive his halves had been on the day.
“They were good,” McMillan said. “I’d chuck Josh Ioane in there as well, he scored a good try and created a couple of others.
“We don’t want to be a team that was reported in the media as only being good when Damian McKenzie’s on the field.
“He was good when he was on there, but the other guys were just as good. That’s what it takes to go deep in the competition, I think, having a number of people able to step up when the moment requires.”
A scoreline of 73-22 to the Chiefs with McKenzie on the park this season, versus a 6-19 one with him off it paints a vivid picture of just how vital the 28-year-old might be to the cause. His electric speed and dangerous counter-attacking ability remain unmatched, while his tactical kicking and game management are much-improved upon return from a 2022 season in Japan.
But Ioane needs to stay alert. While injury could strike again at any time, there are also two games, for starters, that McKenzie will have to sit out as part of All Blacks rest protocols. And the Chiefs’ first-five depth is also lighter this season with Bryn Gatland (Japan) and Rivez Reihana (Crusaders) having departed, and Kaleb Trask replaced in the squad by Taranaki youngster Josh Jacomb due to a long-term injury.
With nine competition points in the bank after facing two sides from last year’s top four, McMillan has labelled it “not perfect, but a pretty good start”, as his side now spend the week on the Sunshine Coast ahead of facing the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday night.
Last year the Queenslanders were the only ones to knock the Chiefs over in the regular season, stunning them 25-22 in New Plymouth, then four weeks later they took them to the wire in a nail-biting quarterfinal in Hamilton, with the hosts prevailing 29-20.