Damian McKenzie’s verdict on Ruben Love as judgement day beckons over All Blacks 10 battle
Beauden Barrett speaking to Damian McKenzie, and Ruben Love in action for the Hurricanes.
Damian McKenzie admits that he has been “very impressed” by Ruben Love as the duo battle for the coveted All Blacks number 10 jersey for their Test opener.
New Zealand take on France this weekend in the first game under new head coach Dave Rennie, with much of the discussion surrounding who starts at fly-half.
Many believe that it will be Love after he dominated McKenzie in the Super Rugby Pacific final, but Rennie could still go with the more experienced Chiefs man.
Beauden Barrett should also not be ruled out, but the general consensus is that his form for the Blues has dropped him down the playmaking pecking order.
How McKenzie views Love
“Very [impressed]. He’s [Love] a good player, he’s playing some great rugby, he’s had a great season, an exciting player,” McKenzie told reporters.
“It’s been nice to be able to link up with him. Even though he’s still so young, he shows a lot of experience and maturity for his age, we saw that throughout the year.”
McKenzie came face-to-face with Love and his Hurricanes team-mates for the first time since that Super Rugby showpiece when they all joined up for All Blacks camp ahead of the Nations Championship.
The Wellington outfit claimed a 60-5 victory in the final in a game where the 31-year-old had a veritable shocker.
It could have been awkward, but the playmaker insisted that it wasn’t.
“They’re good, they’re humble blokes. They’ve got the one up for the year, but those boys deserved everything they got, they had an awesome year,” McKenzie said.
“But once you’re in the All Blacks squad, you put everything aside in terms of Super Rugby. We’re one team, we’ve all got a focus together as a group, and that’s the first Test against the French.
“As a bit more of a mature player now, you’ve got to be able to move on from that disappointment. It can be hard, but we’ve got a good group of players here where we’ve got an exciting opportunity this week to come up against a good French side.
“You’ve just got to move on pretty quickly and surround yourself with the people that are close to you. I was able to go home and spend a bit of time with family, which is great with my boy and my partner.
“And then getting back into camp, it’s always exciting seeing the new faces, seeing the new boys getting an opportunity, new coaches. Just making sure we get back into our work.”
All Blacks great ‘changes mind’ about ‘on fire’ Ruben Love and Dave Rennie ‘would have seen it too’
McKenzie to thrive under Rennie?
McKenzie struggled for form under Scott Robertson, but he hopes that new All Blacks boss Rennie will suit his game better.
The 62-year-old is renowned for his expansive approach and particularly works hard on how his teams attack in transition, something which could bring the best out of the Chiefs star.
“I think it’s just a mindset thing, a bit of optimism around our counter-attack, our turnover ball, and just making sure we are getting our eyes up the field and seeing opportunities. And when it’s on to play, we play,” he said.
“For me, that’s a great thing, I love playing that style of rugby. You’ve definitely got to be fit, there’s nowhere you can hide, that’s for sure.”
