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Watch: McKenzie the standout again as he scorers the winner in the last minute

(Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

Chiefs fullback Damian McKenzie has won the match against the Blues with a try late, after an impressive break from Number Eight Luke Jacobson.

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Jacobson made a brilliant burst through the Blues defensive line, before getting an offload off.

McKenzie then got the ball, and backed himself to get to the line as he bounced off Blues defenders. Considering his try-saving tackle in the first-half, it wouldn’t be unfair to call him the player of the match.

But this match was filled with plenty of drama, from start to finish.

The second-half started with a Damian McKenzie penalty, which was the Chiefs first points of the night.

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Tony Brown interview after the Highlanders loss to the Hurricanes.

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Tony Brown interview after the Highlanders loss to the Hurricanes.

Still trailing by four points though, they came close to scoring earlier in the half through centre Anton Lienert-Brown, who came agonising close to scoring. But the try was instead ruled out by the TMO, with 25-year-old gathering the ball, dropping it, gathering it again before finally dropping it once more.

But the Chiefs weren’t done.

Hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho gave the Chiefs the lead for the first time in the match with just over 20-minutes to play. Damian McKenzie couldn’t quite slot the conversion though, pushing the kick left.

With the Blues trailing, but only just, the match was there for the taking as they entered the last quarter of action.

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From the kick-off that followed, Sam Cane was penalised, but Otere Black missed what would’ve been a go-ahead shot at goal.

But soon after, the Blues began to look really good on attack once again. Caleb Clarke made a roughly 20-metre break down the left-wing before the ball was sent wide right – finding Robinson.

Down by one, the Blues replacement got the ball just short of 40-metres out from the line. Stepping off his right foot, he went straight through the Chiefs defensive line, eventually finding himself in open space.

Chiefs scrumhalf Brad Weber put up a solid chase, but couldn’t quite reel down Robinson.

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For a player who’s listed on the Blues website at 198cm tall, and weighs 110kg, this was an incredible effort. He showed great versatility in this passage of play, but generally brought great impact to the Blues coming off the bench.

The rest of the match was tense to say the least

The Blues had a try ruled out by the TMO, but the Chiefs never quite gave up.

Then at the death, Number Eight Luke Jacobson laid the platform for the winning try, which was scored by McKenzie.

It’s a crucial win for both sides in the context of this season.

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TI 2 hours ago
All Blacks player ratings vs Italy | Autumn Nations Series

Rieko took literally years to turn from a defensive liability at 13 into a guy, who’s defensively sound as it befits the position. And it all came at the cost of him being much less of an offensive threat, than what he used to be. Proctor is a natural 13, he handles, passes, and kicks way better than Rieko ever will, he just isn’t as fast.


It’s unfair to judge Tupaea on the handful of games he’s had in 2022 before he got nearly crippled by a Wallaby lock. What could Tupaea/Proctor pairing be, if they got the same amount of chances as Jordie/Rieko?


Because no matter how you spin it, playing a player outside of his natural position is a poor asset management. No matter how talented he is, he still competes against players who had years and years of practice at the position. And if said guy is so talented that he actually CAN compete against specialists, imagine how much better still he could have been, if he had all those years to iron the toothing issues at the position. It just drives me mad.


Two things I hate in rugby union beyond description: aping after league, and playing players outside of their natural position. Especially considering, that they all admit they hate it, when they’re allowed to speak freely. Owen Farrell spent 80% of his international career at 12, saying every time when asked, that he is a 10 and prefers to play at 10. Those players are literally held at a gunpoint: play out of position, or no national jersey for you.

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