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Scott Robertson on how he will handle Damian McKenzie after the flick pass
By Ben Smith
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has explained the approach he will take with Damian McKenzie after an audacious backhand flick pass potentially cost the All Blacks a key try in Sydney.
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The All Black No 10 was looking dangerous against the Wallabies in Sydney opening them up a number of times only for the last pass to go astray multiple times.
During a key passage in the second half, McKenzie attempted a backhand flick to the inside support runner after a cross-field chip had been gathered and sent inside to the All Blacks support.
Robertson explained that the approach from the All Blacks coaching staff won’t be to “slap him on the wrist” for trying to express himself.
“Slapping on the wrist… no, no, but you do have a conversation,” Roberston explained.
“Because you want to trust their skillset, you want them to be instinctive.
“It’s his greatest gift, isn’t it? Find space, glide, but put it on someone’s chest.
“Give that [pass] maybe a step earlier, and just get the reps in. Some good bit of pressure at training, but keep trusting himself.”
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The livewire No 10 had his first line break in the first half, taking Rod Valetini on the outside, but his traditional pass inside hit the back shoulder of the inside support runner and the opportunity went begging.
In the second half McKenzie was involved in two breakouts, one with the flick pass that again went begging and a third down the left sideline on a counter-attack that almost produced a stunning try to Cortez Ratima.
The long-range effort was ruled out over a forward pass from McKenzie as he tried to offload inside to Will Jordan as he was pulled down on the touchline.
Captain Scott Barrett said it just comes down to execution for the side which on a different day would put scoreboard pressure on.
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“To be honest, I think it’s, you know, it’s just execution, really, that’s all it is,” Barrett said of the missed chances.
“It’s in those moments, the steel to finish those opportunities, because we’re creating them.
“And when we do have teams under the pump, it could be the difference between 20 points on them.”
Despite taking a lot of criticism for the lack of execution with a handful of chances, the irony of the performance is that McKenzie’s boot ultimately won the contest.
After missing kicks at the death in Cape Town, McKenzie kicked five from five in Sydney including a number from the sideline in the first half.
With the Wallabies storming back in the second half to close the gap to 31-28, McKenzie’s goal kicking proved vital in the final wash.
Point less writing down a comment, only a few chosen ones show
DMac needs more time in the saddle. Beauden is being used as the fullback and backup 10, so really there's no other choice. Perofeta is too inexperienced and injury-prone.
He's creating enough opportunities for himself and other players, he just needs to be more accurate in those critical moments when making line breaks. The worst one was the poor pass to Tamaiti Williams with the try line wide open - that was blatantly stupid. The other two were pretty tight with Jordan and Reece both slightly out of position in support.
His biggest issue is his wayward kicking when he thinks there are no other options available while under pressure in his own half, so he just hoofs it without critical thinking. This part of his game was badly exposed against the Springboks with their excellent territorial kicking game and defence.
He always uses the space for himself, he's 29 when exactly do you think he will have had enough time, if we want to develop a 10 make it a young one.
Overrunning the ball carrier is a common fault in the modern game. You see it all the time and think why? DMac's miss pass to Jordan and Reece was a result of this and it also makes the pass look forward. Gotta persevere with DMac though, his goal kicking alone is the best we've got and when we start to execute properly, his true worth will shine through.
As a Bok supporter I sincerely hope they persevere with DMac
No we don't have to persevere with him, god knows he's had enough chances but like Reece its mistake after mistake, time's up. Both Jordan and Reece AND Ioane in previous matches caught forward passes why? because DMac when he's not passing to absolutely no-one is always late! add his aimless box kicks and the result is a multiple liability we can't afford.
Holding onto the ball and passing it late to an unmarked support runner is also a common fault in the modern game, as demonstrated by McKenzie on the Jordan pass.
The support runner has a very short window to shoot through a gap before it closes- pass the ball early.
Dmac can't do it properly, so find someone who can like Barrett or someone else, the ABs 10 can't be like this hasn't worked for the chiefs and it isn't working at test level.
Dmac can do things no other ten in NZ can. But man do I hope he sharpens up in Wellington.
I thought it was criminal not trusting Harry Plummer to have a good 20-25 minutes crack. What was the point of picking him?
Because Harry Plummer is rubbish. Barely Super Rugby level. Where is Perofeta when you need him?
Damian McKenzie has shown zero improvement after starting 8 tests in a row. He is still and will always be wildly inconsistent and pull off the spectacular highlight play followed by the coach killing bad pass, poor option-taking, and of course a very short and ineffective kick gifting possession and territory back to the opposition.
And when the 10 is inconsistent, more so than any other player, the entire team is inconsistent over 80 minutes.
The All Blacks this season are a reflection of their 10.
Jordan over ran Dmac on the left, so the forward pass wasn't his fault.
Maybe a spanking?