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Barrett or McKenzie?: Super Rugby stars weigh in on who should start at fullback for the All Blacks

(Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Two of New Zealand’s top Super Rugby figures have weighed in on who they think should start at fullback for the All Blacks out of Jordie Barrett or Damian McKenzie.

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The duo will go head-to-head with themselves and a raft of other candidates – including Beauden Barrett, Will Jordan and David Havili – for New Zealand’s fullback spot in what will be one of the most tightly-contested positions in Ian Foster’s squad.

All five players bring with them standout qualities that make them bona fide contenders to don the No 15 jersey in the test arena, but the younger Barrett brother and McKenzie have been two of the stars of this year’s Super Rugby Aotearoa season.

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Highlanders assistant coach Clarke Dermody speaks to media following defeat to Hurricanes

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Highlanders assistant coach Clarke Dermody speaks to media following defeat to Hurricanes

The latter has been heavily involved in both of the Chiefs’ victories over the past fortnight, with his 80th minute try securing his side a dramatic 15-12 upset win over the Blues in Hamilton on Saturday.

The week before that, the 25-year-old was in sensational form to help guide his side to a 35-29 comeback win over the Hurricanes in Wellington.

It’s for that reason that Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall lathered McKenzie in praise during the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

In the game against the Hurricanes, McKenzie was used at first-five despite playing most of the match from fullback, and the positional switch – as well as his partnership with Chase Tiatia – was the catalyst for the Chiefs’ drought-breaking victory.

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That led to questions being raised over whether the 27-test All Black should be used primarily at No 10, a tactic that was trialled by the Chiefs and All Blacks in 2018, but Hall was adamant McKenzie should start at fullback before moving into the pivot .

“He’s in top form, isn’t he,” Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“We talked about it before, around whether he’s going to be at 10 or 15, but I guess what they’re doing, they’re persisting at the moment, they’re getting that genuine 10 with [Kaleb] Trask, whether that be bringing the future, having them start the game.

“We’ve talked a lot around bringing him [McKenzie] in that last 20-25 minutes when teams are tired, reserves are coming on and the game’s a little bit more open, and he can bring his counter-attack game.

“He can rove around and he can pop up in spaces like he did on the weekend, just [like] with that try with Luke Jacobson, beating him around the ball.

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“They’ve got some good fullbacks at the moment. We haven’t even talked about Jordie, who scored 30 points on the weekend, so no doubt we’ll get to that, but I’d probably like to see them stick with that.

“Keep Damian at No 15 and then bring him into 10 for that last 20-25 minutes when the game’s really open and he can immerse himself in that running rugby.”


However, former Blues hooker and Hall’s ex-North Harbour teammate James Parsons conceded that while he was a self-confessed fan of McKenzie, he believed Barrett has the upper hand due to his influence within the Hurricanes side.

The 24-year-old was instrumental in his side’s 30-19 victory over the Highlanders last week as he scored all of his team’s points via a hat-trick of tries, three conversions and three penalties.

It follows a string of good performances that began last year when he flourished in the absence of his brother Beauden, who defected to the Blues before joining Top League side Suntory Sungoliath on a six-month sabbatical this year.

Emerging from the shadow of the two-time World Rugby Player of the Year, Barrett was one of Super Rugby Aotearoa’s most valuable players in 2020, and the 23-test international has continued that vein of form into this season, as evidenced by his massive points haul in Dunedin last Friday.

Parsons said all of that has culminated in Barrett earning the upper hand when it comes to who should start at fullback for the All Blacks this year.

“I’ve been a Damo fan for a long time, I think everyone knows that, but I think Jordie’s probably got the inside running due to last year’s form at No 15,” the two-test All Black told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.

“He’s probably been in that wing spot due to his brother [Beauden] being there [at fullback], so he’s now backing it up, so he’s probably got the first right of way.

“Obviously Damo can maybe pick up that bench spot, and if he goes down, he’ll be next in line, but that’s the beauty of that depth. The only theory I can go with is the fact that… last year’s form has now been carried on and that’s how they normally work.”

In the wake of the Hurricanes’ victory over the Highlanders, Barrett made no secret to the media that he wants to play at fullback, with Hurricanes boss Jason Holland labelling him as a “world-class No 15, and he’s not a world-class No 10”.

 

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It comes after the franchise lost both of their contracted first-fives, Jackson Garden-Bachop (achilles) and Simon Hickey (knee), to season-ending injuries.

Given Barrett’s versatility across the backline – he has played in every position bar halfback throughout age-grade, provincial, Super Rugby and test level – Parsons said there would have been a temptation from the Hurricanes coaches to move Barrett to No 10 to fill that void.

The Wellington-based side have evidently resisted that urge, and have held their stance on the matter, which Parsons said was commendable from both parties.

“It’s just been a continuation of that form that you can’t ignore, and, man, he’s in touch and he’s made a statement and he’s like, ‘I don’t want to play anywhere else’,” he said.

“Especially at such a crucial time where Jackson Garden-Bachop has gone down, it would have been so easy to put him in at 10 for those Hurricanes coaches, and he obviously stood pretty strong to say, ‘No, I can do my best footy from 15’.”

The race for the national No 15 jersey continue this week when Barrett and the Hurricanes take on the Blues at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

In the Friday night game, the Crusaders will host the Highlanders in the second edition of the South Island derby in Christchurch this weekend, while McKenzie and the Chiefs will enter their second bye week of the season.

Listen to the latest episode of the Aotearoa Rugby Pod below:

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Eliza Galloway 1 hour ago
Geoff Parling: An Englishman roasting the Lions?

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JW 1 hour ago
James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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LONG READ
LONG READ James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum
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