All Blacks: Scott Robertson explains why Beauden Barrett starts at 10 ahead of Damian McKenzie
All Blacks playmakers Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett, and head coach Scott Robertson.
Despite dropping him to the replacements bench for Saturday’s clash with the Wallabies, All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is backing Damian McKenzie to play a vital role as an impact player.
After starting at fly-half in all eight of New Zealand’s Tests this year, McKenzie has been named as one of three backline replacement for the Bledisloe Cup Test in Wellington with Beauden Barrett getting the nod in the number 10 position.
Expects McKenzie to shine off the bench
Although McKenzie will start on the bench, Robertson is happy with his performances for the men in black in 2024 and is confident he will shine when he takes to the field.
“He’s had a great season to date,” Robertson told reporters. “There’s areas of his game he can get better and come on and be D-Mac.
“He can play. He’s created a lot for us. He’s one of the highest line breakers in the comp.
“He can wave a wand and take a gap. Also come on and go and manage what we need to do to finish the match.”
McKenzie’s demotion means Barrett comes into the run-on side to start at fly-half and he forms a half-back partnership with fellow veteran TJ Perenara, who will play in his final Test on home soil.
Robertson said although McKenzie was the first choice fly-half in all of the All Blacks‘ previous Tests this year, it was always in his plans to give Barrett a run in that position and he believes having Perenara on his inside is a good move as the duo know each other well.
Barrett and Perenara played more than 100 matches together as the Hurricanes’ first choice half-back pairing between 2012 and 2019 and had important roles for the Wellington-based outfit when they won their only Super Rugby title in 2016.
Has confidence in experienced half-back duo
And Robertson believes the duo’s experience will prove invaluable against the Wallabies at their old stomping ground this weekend.
“We always planned to give Beauden a go. You have to,” he said. “He’s (McKenzie) played and started every game until now. He’s shown some great form and we’ve got to give guys opportunities and build depth in our team.
“It’s a nice chance for Beauden to play outside TJ.
“They’ve got a combination, they’ve played a lot of games together and they’ve played a lot of games together at the Cake Tin (SKY Stadium), so it lines up nicely.”
