All Blacks: Damian McKenzie reveals Scott Robertson’s important message after achieving vital goal
All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie and head coach Scott Robertson.
Damian McKenzie is seeking to build on the positive start to Scott Robertson’s All Blacks reign when the Rugby Championship begins this weekend.
New Zealand are currently three from three under the Crusaders legend after defeating England 2-0 and then Fiji in a one-off Test in San Diego.
They now head into the annual southern hemisphere tournament hoping to retain the title they have won for the past four seasons.
All Blacks’ Rugby Championship dominance
South Africa – in 2019 – were the last side other than the All Blacks to win the Rugby Championship and Robertson will look to maintain their dominance over their rivals.
McKenzie was asked what the head coach’s key message was heading into the upcoming competition and the fly-half responded: “It’s just to keep growing and move forward on what we’ve already started off. As I’ve said, we’ve started really well.
“When we came here a month ago it was about the cohesion, a little bit of clarity, and I now think we’ve got that.
“For us, it’s about building on it for this week and moving forward. I think we’re in a really good space.
“It’s not going to get any easier in terms of the opposition and that starts this weekend against Argentina. I’m looking forward to that challenge and I think we’re in a good space to keep moving forward.”
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The All Blacks open their campaign with two games against Argentina before they head to South Africa to face the Springboks in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Those will surely be tournament-defining clashes but McKenzie knows that their first priority is to get the job done against Los Pumas.
Argentina’s strengths
The South Americans shocked New Zealand in Christchurch in 2022 and the playmaker understands that the visitors have a number of threats in their side.
“They’re a great side; a tough opponent in Argentina and a tough opponent when they travel as well. They have a physical pack and they’ve got some great backs as well, and they can really play some attacking rugby,” McKenzie said.
“They’re a team that if you let them get on top early, they’re a tough team to stop. For us, it’s about matching them physically and trying to exploit the areas where we can. We know it’s a massive challenge this week against a good side.
“We know that every time we come up against the Argentinians, they’re going to throw everything at us. They’re a passionate side. If you let them get on top early, they’re a tough team to stop so we’ll try to combat that.”
