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It's time to stop hating on Damian McKenzie, the best 10 in the Championship

Damian McKenzie of New Zealand during the Castle Lager Rugby Championship match between South Africa and New Zealand at DHL Stadium on September 07, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)

After the first Bledisloe Cup test in Sydney the unsettling wave of criticism grew louder for All Blacks first five-eighth Damian McKenzie after a host of missed opportunities.

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The No 10 had up to three try scoring opportunities go awry. One from his own line break in the first half, a second from backing up inside Sevu Reece where he threw the flick pass attempt, and a third went begging with a forward pass offload that ended with Cortez Ratima crashing over.

McKenzie is a risk-taker, a gambler, and not your cookie cutter game manager in the mould of Harry Plummer.

He’s also a phenomenal attacking talent, one that the New Zealand public can’t forget so quickly.

While the calls grow louder to give up on McKenzie for a safer option, the inconvenient truth is he has been one of the All Blacks’ best players this season.

In the July series against England McKenzie delivered way above expectations, despite the clock mishap in the first Test.

Often criticised for wild decision-making and flinging high risk passes, under the storm of the English rush defence McKenzie routinely unlocked the outside space.

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He put the ball on the money to Sevu Reece with a cross-field kick for the opening try. He had two more clean line break assists in the first half.

He cleaned up every kick into the backfield and diffused every high ball his way. He made every tackle asked of him. There were no handling errors or poor turnovers. In a game decided by one point, he had one try assist and kicked two second half penalties to overcome a 10-15 deficit.

In the second Test win at Eden Park, McKenzie was a match-winner. Without him, they simply don’t win the game. He created enough chances for the All Blacks to be up 21-7 in the first half.

His first piece of genius was a dink chip kick in behind that he regathered and found Jordie Barrett on the burst. Codie Taylor was put in the clear but was gunned down from behind, with Sevu Reece outside him.

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The next was sparking a long counter-attack after fielding a long Marcus Smith kick. He split Maro Itoje and Ben Earl, breaking through the line, then put Mark Tele’a away.

Fullback Stephen Perofeta, with two men inside him, opted to pass back outside to Tele’a and the pair butchered one of the easiest finishes you will be given at Test level.

Both try scoring opportunities were sparked by McKenzie. He was just about the only player across the two Tests to cause issues for England’s defence.

Beauden Barrett was praised for his supersub performance in the second half to lift the All Blacks, but it was also McKenzie who put Barrett into space with a line break assist leading to Tele’a’s second try. The next three points came after another McKenzie pass put Sevu Reece through the line for another line break.

Again, it wasn’t just only the positive attacking plays, it was the absence of any bonehead errors and costly mistakes.

The All Blacks try of the season, scored by Sam Darry in Wellington against Argentina, came after another break sparked by McKenzie again chipping the line and regathering possession. He linked with Beauden Barrett who sent the ball infield with a big banana, and Darry scooped up the loose ball and dived over.

When the All Blacks took a 20-8 lead in that game, it was because McKenzie had put Lienert-Brown over with a try assist, a face ball across two Argentinian defenders onto the back shoulder where it needed to be.

His lone turnover was a costly forward pass to Will Jordan on a line break that led to a would-be game-sealing try to McKenzie himself, while the play many will remember cannot be solely blamed on the first five.

No one talks about Ardie Savea playing halfback and passing the ball over McKenzie’s head. Both Barrett brothers watched on as McKenzie’s pass split them, costing a five metre scrum and the eventual lead.

Bouncing back from defeat in Wellington, the All Blacks put on a first half clinic at Eden Park to dispatch the Pumas 36-3 by half-time.

McKenzie scored the first try chasing a chip from Jordie Barrett. He was involved in Caleb Clarke’s try with the second-to-last pass to put Ardie Savea into space out wide, he then put Beauden Barrett through the line for a try assist.

In South Africa McKenzie again made plays that just weren’t finished. In the fifth minute at Ellis Park he got between Ben Jason-Dixon and Damian de Allende, flicking a back hand offload to Barrett at pace.

Another genius offload by Barrett gave the All Blacks the chance to score but Ethan Blackadder butchered it by not giving the last pass.

On Caleb Clarke’s first try, a double pump by McKenzie beat Jesse Kriel and kept the ball swinging wide after the Boks’ turnover. On Clarke’s second try he put a long ball perfectly on the chest of Barrett who finished with the final pass.

McKenzie wasn’t responsible for momentum swings against the All Blacks. Barrett kicked out on the full twice and had another kicking blunder on half-time kicking directly out with time still on the clock. Multiple possessions were turned over at the breakdown.

The final quarter fade featured a number of poor plays by many, but not McKenzie.

In Cape Town he was asked to kick penalties from long range, perhaps outside his known distance, leading to key misses. Just one of the three misses was an “expected” make.

In Sydney, McKenzie carved up the Wallabies without having the polish to finish. What most will fail to recognise is that with a Harry Plummer-type No 10, two of those three missed opportunities don’t even eventuate.

Plummer is not an avid line breaker with the speed and evasiveness of McKenzie. He perhaps would have only finished the second break, backing up inside and giving a more accurate pass inside to Tamaiti Williams.

Off the bench in Wellington for the second Bledisloe McKenzie delivered a lively cameo. He was electric with every touch, skinning the Wallabies down the left touchline with a try assist for Caleb Clarke after flying into the line.

The bottom line is no player in world rugby has created as many line breaks as McKenzie has this year. He’s top of the list, while also delivering try assist after try assist.

McKenzie has a reputation as being a cowboy playmaker with rocks and diamonds plays. That reputation follows him around to his detriment, regardless of what is actually happening on the field.

This year with the All Blacks his error rate with ball-in-hand has been extremely low, he’s executed to a high level across all of the Tests providing a steady hand as a game driver. Anyone who can’t see that he’s been the All Blacks’ best attacker player this year doesn’t understand what is going on.

No other No 10 in the Rugby Championship has more attacking production than him, yet players like Tomas Albonoroz and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu are being talked up as “better”.

Albonoroz had one breakout game while Feinberg-Mngomezulu, benefitting from the shiny new object syndrome, bombed tries in Perth and at the end of the Cape Town Test. The young No 10 has far more turnovers (eight in four games) and just one try assist. Not to mention he cost South Africa the Ireland series.

He’s young, exciting, and full of upside but don’t get it twisted. The All Blacks actually need McKenzie to produce, while Feinberg-Mngomezulu can take a backseat behind a dominant pack, who then cover his backside when he makes errors.

Damian McKenzie was the best No 10 in the Rugby Championship without a shadow of a doubt.

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Comments

135 Comments
J
JO 42 days ago

Delusional Ben Smith, thinking NZ has any players that are 1 in the world in their position. Wake up and smell the present, it must hurt living in the past.

G
GL 44 days ago

Totally agree Ben

T
Teddy 44 days ago

The article is a nice reminder of his strengths as a 15. Unfortunately for his team, none of those have transferred to him playing at 10.

P
PR 44 days ago

"Bouncing back from defeat in Wellington, the All Blacks put on a first half clinic at Eden Park to dispatch the Pumas 36-3 by half-time." - The half-time score was 35-3.


How do you get that wrong as a professional journalist? I mean honestly. That Ben Smith has a career as a writer is utterly mystifying. Surely there must be someone more competent in NZ?

B
BM 45 days ago

true but if we react to mitchells diatrjbe we're banned

J
JW 45 days ago

haha All comments are moderated and will be removed if offensive. Please keep it respectful.

P
Phill 45 days ago

The fact that articles like this are published to incite divide amongst people is against the spirit of the game. To quote Nigel Owens, " the soccer stadium is about 500 yards that way." This type of divisive rubbish isn't how a rugby man represents himself.

J
JW 45 days ago

Quite right, and the worst part is that it was in reply to someone else's inciting article.

B
Bruiser 45 days ago

He isnt playing his normal instinctive game. Thats messaging from the coaches around changing his game....he needs the balance to be more back towards instinctive instead of play safe most of the time. He will find the balance naturally in his own way. Mounaga took years to find his feet as well, balancing the same thoughts in his head.

J
JWH 45 days ago

I am sure he will come right, but he is more of a 15 than a 10 with the way he plays. It's a shame that we don't have a proper 10 behind the best forward pack in the world right now :(

h
hm 45 days ago

amen ben 🙏

J
Jmann 45 days ago

It's pretty faint praise to be honest. None of the 1st 5/8ths in the RC particularly impressed. D-Mac still lacks top level game management and too many of his kicks under pressure are poor. Yes - he is good goal kicker and yes he is the best ball runner at 10 (probably globally). But I would be very surprised if he was starting 10 for the ABs in the 2027 RWC final

R
Rooksie 43 days ago

Best ball running number 10 in the world 😆 🤣 u joking arnt u bro ..always thought number 10 ran and set up his backline not run around in circles putting everyone under pressure and not knowing what's going on then throws hail Mary passes or forward passes or the next bloke just drops it because he has no idea the ball was going to come to him..did u watch Richie ran he cut though defenders like they weren't even there and pass the ball to a player for a try ..that break he made from near our 22 against Ireland in quarters and set u a beautiful try ..dmac couldn't do that if he tired 100 times ..honestly if he's the best we got then we are truly F..ked

J
JWH 45 days ago

This is what I have been saying. While the 10 position is important, there aren't really any good 10s in the world right now (maybe Ntamack).

G
GP 45 days ago

Damien McKenzie is not the best 10 in the championship or indeed NZ. He has plenty of flair , but little game management. He is a converted 10. Richie Mo'unga is desperately needed back and it will happen. He was a miracle 10 under Robertson at the Crusaders, but Foster undermined him , start to finish. Ben Smith has his opinion , I respect that.

f
frandinand 45 days ago

Why did I know who the author of this article was when I saw the headline.

J
Jmann 45 days ago

because of how triggered you were?

J
JW 45 days ago

I could imagine the punchline from reading the headline too!

S
SM 45 days ago

No one hates Dmac, he's just never going to be good enough to be the ABs 10 use BB until we find one .

B
Bull Shark 45 days ago

Regardless of Ben Smith’s panicky explanations and drivel, Dmac is the best 10 New Zealand’s got, full stop.


Unless Mounga becomes eligible or returns, you’ve got no other options.

I
IS 45 days ago

Mounga isn't even close to being better

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Ed Pye 45 days ago

Dmac has created a lot of chances for sure Ben, but you are also ignoring some other simple facts:

1. His contestable kicking was poor

2. His tactical kicking was inconsistent

3. His goal kicking was inconsistent

4. Periods where the AB's should have been looking to consolidate momentum, they were still thinking all out attack. That's a mindset driven by the 10

I
IS 45 days ago

You do know dmac has the most kick regathees of any other al black in the team right so your comment is poor asf he also boasted the best kicking percentage i. The rugby championship his tactical kicking was better than any other all black so what the he'll are you on about

J
JW 45 days ago

Nar..

1. They don't have good chasers. Average and tactically different would be more accurate.

3. Dmac is an 85% kicker

4. Or by the team and coachs


I thought his tactical kicking was very consistent too, was there something you didn't like about it though?

F
Flankly 45 days ago

My kids are the best in the world.

J
JW 45 days ago

No that's the normal quality of article I expect from Ben Smith!

C
CT 45 days ago

First Time I agree that he is the best AB player this season in saying that the bar ain't that high this season so compared to other players in other teams quite a average really

J
JW 45 days ago

Not had a ten that's been better than him this season CT. Though I think that pretty much qualifies you're statement, even of the teams they haven't faced theres not really much quality out there.

N
Nickers 45 days ago

The criticism I have of DMac is that when the game gets crazy, he get's crazier, and he always responds to pressure with risk.


When we are really under the pump, and desperate to take a breath and regroup, that is when he is most likely to throw a crazy pass or try a chip and chase.


He is a generational talent, but he has these moments where he decides a try need to be scored in the next phase, regardless of field position or game situation.


He is yet to provide himself capable of playing a tight controlled game when he needs to.

J
JW 45 days ago

The criticism I have of DMac is that when the game gets crazy, he get's crazier, and he always responds to pressure with risk.

That's based off his Full Back playing days right? You haven't seen that happen this year (I would argue in the Bleds when he had as much space as a FB).


He is full on for sure, he sees no reason not to take advantage of an opportunity?


He's played several tight controlled games this year, if you're talking about tight contests against constricting teams while making no mistakes. If you just mean, 'he's not "just done nothing" or, "only done the bare minimum"', yeah I think that agrees with ^^. Why do you want to see that?

H
Hellhound 45 days ago

I read and agreed with some points this article and was just surprised to find at least one Ben Smith article that is worth it, but then he couldn't help himself. More BS at the end and that is no surprise.

J
JW 45 days ago

Haha I get the feeling that's where the Bullseye always was HH!

S
SJ 45 days ago

More delusional BS from Ben Smith. I give him credit for getting the comments going though. Kind of all he's good for, and I think he and RugbyPass know that. He's got to put food on the table He knows his rugby knowledge and analysis just isn't going to cut it.

D
DC000 45 days ago

It could be true. It's clearly a third rate comp anyway. So does it really matter?


All the teams in it are overrated and require direct interference from the refs to win

J
JW 45 days ago

1. Rugby World Cup

2. World Test Championship

3. The Rugby Championship

4... 7 Nations.. wait no.. something the other half of WTC

5. Super Rugby

W
Wayneo 45 days ago

Has anybody noticed how DMac has integrated elements of another player into his game this season?


This player that has been mentioned several times these past three years by kiwi’s and also mentioned that they were “watching him closely” and “doing a lot of analysis on him”.


By the way, the kiwis are not the only ones who have been watching other players closely…


The bits & pieces he has implemented have delivered a mixed bag of results so far, so much retrofitting you can try to get a Ferrari engine into a Honda Civic. It either fits or it doesn’t.


Possible reason could be that DMac does not have the ability to mimic another player or because the player is just way more talented than DMac.


My money is on the latter and this is why he was eventually dropped.


Won’t be surprised if Razor brings in another 10 next month.


DMac = Poor man's version of Manie Libbok.

J
JW 45 days ago

Nice!


Top goal kicking version of Manie Libbok. What South Africa used to have!

J
John 45 days ago

Mate he wasn't dropped it was TJ last game at wellington so they put him with Barrett as the last dance did u not read the Internet or the paper

That day?

S
SF 45 days ago

We love it when DMac plays against the Boks. Definitely not a great 10.

Sorry for our Bok flyhalves too, but the best 10 in the RC this year was that small lad from Argentina. By far....

E
ES 46 days ago

NZ RUGBY: Mirror mirror on the wall who is the greatest 10 of them all

MIRROR: The greatest 10 of them all is Handre Pollard

NZ Rugby: Quickly let's break the mirror

J
JW 45 days ago

I'm pretty sure Mark Robinsons face would have already cracked it by then.

D
DP 46 days ago

Finally I agree with Ben Smith. Thankfully I didn’t waste any time actually reading his article but suffice to say I think NZ must persist with DMac and keep him firmly in the 10 jersey.. you defo don’t need Mounga back when DMac is there to pull the strings..

J
John 45 days ago

Agreed all season for the all blacks I've seen he's the only one setting something up or Brecking the line mostly every line Breck he's had a hand in it but just hating cause of what didn't go well and they don't see the bigger picture

J
JC 46 days ago

This is a joke, stats against two average sides doesn’t matter. There is no way he is better than the three other SA flyhalfs. A better kicker than libbok but that’s it. NZ are in major trouble if this is the best they have, exceptionally poor when the game is in the melting pot (last 20mins), behind a non dominant pack and decision making under pressure. A better and good bench option he would be.

J
JW 45 days ago

Yes, the All Black pack is dominant of South Africa's with a two man advantage!

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J
JW 1 hour ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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