Scott Hansen: 'We all know Damian, don't we? He's a gambler'

More shot clock drama stopped just shy of unfolding in the All Blacks‘ tight win over England over the weekend, with Damian McKenzie again at the centre of it.

Just as the All Blacks’ first five-eight debate looked to be settling down with Beauden Barrett earning his second consecutive start in the coveted No. 10 jersey at Allianz Stadium, the eldest Barrett brother succumbed to a head knock late and was replaced as playmaker by the man who started the opening nine Tests of the year at 10, Damian McKenzie.

With a 75th-minute Mark Tele’a try levelling the score at 22 apiece, McKenzie was tasked with stepping up for what would become the match-winning conversion from the sideline.

After timing out on an attempt off the tee in the first game of New Zealand’s Test season against England in July, the clock winding down on McKenzie was a serious cause for Kiwi concern. However, with the shot clock on three, the 29-year-old struck it beautifully and the ball sailed just inside the righthand upright.

“We all know Damian, don’t we? He’s a gambler. He’s brave, he’s going to kick that. He’s in the moment. In that moment, he’s kicking to win it, but he’s got no pressure around where he’s at with it,” All Blacks assistant coach Scott Hansen said of the moment when reflecting on the game with Newstalk ZB’s Weekend Sport with Jason Pine.

“He lined it up, he was confident. It was never going to be around that kick, it was always going to be around the moments before it.

“But at the end of the day, for him to line it up, be so confident, and that’s the Damian McKenzie we all know: brave. And from that, we were in a position to win a Test.”

The conversion was far from the last moment of drama in the Test, as England won possession back on the restart and pressed downfield to set McKenzie’s counterpart George Ford up with a drop goal to win the game at the death.

30 seconds after the 80-minute siren had sounded, Ford kicked and missed.

Joy was written on the New Zealand faces, but so too was the fatigue of a titanic Test match. The team now face a short turnaround as they play the world’s No. 1 ranked team, Ireland, on Friday night in Dublin.

“Tonight we’ve got to regroup,” Hansen said. “There are a number of boys who are very sore, it was a very tough Test match here.

“Twickenham, England, home; those first couple of carries that came around the corner were very, very physical. We’ve had a number of players leave the field through HIA protocols, so we’re looking at that also.

“You go into Ireland with a shorter week, yes. But, you go into tomorrow proud of the performance today and as All Blacks we’ll ask ourselves where can we be better and we’ll get excited about the opportunity to face Ireland on their home turf also.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

2

Draws

0

Wins

3

Average Points scored

22

25

First try wins

60%

Home team wins

20%

Codie Taylor joins Barrett on the injury list for the Ireland Test, but the good news is the return to form of 2023 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year Mark Tele’a who scored twice in the England win.

“It was a very good performance from him, wasn’t it? Two tries today, strong on the edge. You think about the air, we needed to go to contestable kicks, Mark was winning them in the right spots. It’s a performance he can be really proud of and we’re really happy for him.”