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"Add that spark": Why Damian McKenzie needs to remain on All Blacks bench
SENZ • September 30th, 2024 10:21 am
The much maligned All Blacks interchanges bench finally showed some signs of life during Saturday's win over the Wallabies in Wellington.
Held scoreless through the final quarter through their five previous Tests, the bench squad maintained the All Blacks' momentum and their clean second-half tryline, as the team finally broke that scoring duck through Caleb Clarke.
That movement was sparked by Damian McKenzie, who after starting every test this year at first-five, was shifted to the bench to allow Beauden Barrett to start.
McKenzie was at his very best in Wellington, able to use his dynamism to take advantage of trying defenders and inject some life into the NZ backline.
According to cross-code great Sonny Bill Williams, that's where McKenzie should remain going forward - as a sparkplug for Scott Robertson off the pine.
"(McKenzie) is a world class player. I love him coming off the bench to add that spark as we saw when he set up that try as soon as he came on," Williams told SENZ's Scotty & Izzy.
The two-time World Cup winner says he's encouraged by what he saw from the All Blacks in the capital but he believes the side still has significant room for improvement.
Williams puts the onus for unlocking that "next level" down to Robertson and his staff. He says they clearly have the quality of players at their disposal, now it's up to them to find the balance in their matchday 23 on a more consistent basis, as they prepare to head north for what promises to be a stern litmus test of their progress.
"I feel like we're waiting just to go to that next level," Williams added.
"We've certainly got the players, we've got the talent, got the depth. I think, this tour, we're going to see that hopefully.
"I don't feel like it's a players thing. Once we get out our interchange right, we're still playing around with that.
"Our forward rotation - our forwards coach needs to get that sorted. But, we've definitely got the talent and we definitely got the players to go to that next level and we're there or thereabouts."
Listen to the full interview:
