Damian McKenzie embracing opportunity in new All Blacks era

Damian McKenzie isn’t shying away from the opportunity at hand.

As the All Blacks usher in a new era, the race for the No 10 jersey shapes up as one of the big storylines of 2024 with McKenzie and Japan-based Beauden Barrett shaping up as the early candidates to begin the test season as Scott Robertson’s key playmaker.

Barrett, who is currently playing for Toyota Verblitz, inked a long-term deal with New Zealand Rugby late last year which will see him return home after the Japanese season and be available to play for the All Blacks in 2024.

Outside of Barrett and McKenzie, there is limited test experience in the country’s first five-eighths stocks, and McKenzie said he wasn’t going to ignore the opportunity in front of him this season.

“You’ve got to embrace it. There’s obviously an opportunity there this year so for me, I’ve always been a person who takes it week by week, but you’ve got to take care in your performance, you’ve got to prepare well,” McKenzie said.

“There’s a clear and obvious opportunity there in the first five position. That’s the position I want to play and that’s where I want to be, being able to lead this team. I know there’s a lot of work to be done before that first team gets named so I’m really excited for that opportunity.”

McKenzie was the form playmaker in Super Rugby Pacific last year, leading the Chiefs to a runners-up finish and earning a spot in the All Blacks squad.

He impressed in a starting role against Argentina at the start of the Rugby Championship, but was largely a wider rotation player and ultimately deployed off the bench through the knockout stages of the Rugby World Cup.

However, with Richie Mo’unga heading offshore on a long-term basis, McKenzie and the rest of the country’s first five-eighths have plenty to play for in the upcoming Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

The 28-year-old said he was yet to sit down with Robertson and discuss what his role in the new All Blacks coach’s team could look like, but said it was the usual story of putting himself in the test picture through his Super Rugby form.

“It’s more been [about] coming back and trying to get some good numbers in our testing, to be honest,” he said.

“We’ve had conversations in the past and with a couple of other coaches in the [All Blacks] management. There’s a big Super Rugby campaign we’ve got ahead of us and hopefully I’ll put my hand up for that 10 jersey.”

McKenzie was one of 22 players to attend a two-day All Blacks training camp in Auckland this week, with players getting a chance to meet Robertson and his new management staff while also running through some fitness testing.

The camp was for All Blacks who either featured or were selected for the World Cup campaign last year and are set to play on home soil again in 2024.

“It’s really important,” McKenzie said of the week’s mini-camp. “Obviously for us, test [season] is a long way away so to be able to get together as a group, it’s good to connect with the new guys and new faces, particularly in management.

“We’ve got a big Super Rugby campaign ahead, so we’ve got to put our hands up there first and hopefully we’re back introducing ourselves later in the year.”

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.