The All Blacks No.10 jersey is back in the spotlight after Damian McKenzie's destructive Super Rugby Pacific weekend, with the latest Develin Sports Podcast Network (DSPN) Rugby Round Table declaring the Chiefs playmaker "without doubt the most influential player in Super Rugby in terms of turning the game around".
McKenzie's running game in the Chiefs' clash with the Hurricanes a fortnight earlier — and his repeat performance against the Blues — has tilted the conversation back his way after a few weeks of momentum behind young Hurricanes pivot Ruben Love. The DSPN trio of John Day, Mark Watson and Martin Devlin had previously been pushing for Love to "be given the keys" of the All Blacks attack ahead of the France Test series. The weekend changed at least one mind.
"I came out on my radio show and did a bit of a U-turn," Watson said. "I still think I want to see Ruben Love given an opportunity in the 10 jersey at some point in an All Black [shirt]. But yeah, look, Damian McKenzie absolutely killed him on the weekend." Watson said he had wanted Love to start against France, but the contrast between McKenzie's directness and Love's "a little bit more sort of percentage football" had been too obvious to ignore.
Day was even more pointed about the gap, but warned against repeating mistakes the All Blacks have made with McKenzie before. "He's never been given that number 10 jersey permanently. The moment there's a little bit of a blip, we tend to drop him a little bit," he said, arguing that the Chiefs star had the all-round game New Zealand had been chasing since Andrew Mehrtens. "He could kick a drop goal. He had the total game."
Day did, though, identify a Test-match-pressure question still hanging over McKenzie. "Damian McKenzie couldn't [kick a drop goal] at the weekend when they needed to win the game. He was in front of the post and he got charged down by Wallace Sititi and they scored a lucky try from it and won the game. So I'm still looking for that Test match moment from Damian McKenzie as well as Ruben Love."
The panel were equally clear that the wider No.10 picture is anything but settled. Returning veteran Richie Mo'unga, Day argued, remained "probably still in pole position" once eligibility resolves, while Beauden Barrett "didn't do himself any favours at the weekend, did he? He had a shocker, especially at the end of the game".
DSPN's broader concern, voiced repeatedly across the segment, is whether Super Rugby Pacific is producing the intensity needed to prepare a Test-quality fly-half. The Chiefs-Hurricanes derby was praised as "as good as we get", but lopsided contests against the Blues, the Highlanders or Moana Pasifika were dismissed as poor preparation for what France and South Africa will throw at New Zealand later this year. "Blowing Moana Pasifica out, blowing these other teams out doesn't prepare us at all," Watson said.
For now, the DSPN view is that McKenzie has nudged into pole position to start the home Test series, with Love kept in the squad as the next-cab-off-the-rank apprentice. But both men still have at least one Test-match moment to deliver before head coach Dave Renie and his selectors can make that call with full confidence.
