Justin Marshall pinpoints the issue with Damian McKenzie after the All Blacks ‘drowned’ against Argentina
All Blacks fly-half Damian McKenzie and former player Justin Marshall.
Former All Black Justin Marshall has questioned Scott Robertson’s decision-making after failing to replace Damian McKenzie during their defeat to Argentina.
New Zealand fell to a shock 38-30 loss to Los Pumas as they once again struggled to put in a performance under their new head coach.
They were ultimately outplayed by the South Americans, who did the basics better and made fewer mistakes, especially in the final quarter.
The All Blacks’ playmaking axis of McKenzie and Beauden Barrett also did not work as effectively as it did at the end of the two England Tests.
Will Jordan error
However, Robertson opted to keep both on the field, despite having Will Jordan as a potential full-back option.
Jordan replaced Sevu Reece instead and played the final half-hour on the wing, a call Marshall disagreed with.
“I question whether Scott Robertson and his coaching staff made the right decision with Will Jordan. We were drowning, we were really struggling to break through that very resilient defence,” he told The Platform.
“I thought that when they introduced Will Jordan, they needed to change the picture, they needed to bring Beauden into first five and put Will Jordan at full-back, and all of a sudden change the dynamic of what the defence is seeing.”
Marshall believes that Barrett may well be the better fly-half option currently due to the All Blacks’ game plan and the way the 33-year operates.
‘Lateral’ McKenzie
“Beauden Barrett is a much straighter player than what Damian McKenzie is,” he said. “Damian McKenzie is more lateral and it was kind of playing into the hands of that defence, which was so rushed and equally so resilient 15 metres either side of the ruck.
“Beauden Barrett will offer something different, which gives other players different opportunities, and Will Jordan can open the game up from the back; very similar to what Beauden Barrett did at Eden Park [against England].
“They brought him on and he just changed the way that the game was flowing. He just saw things, played differently and swung the game. I just felt that we didn’t make good decisions in trying to change the picture of what Argentina were seeing because they were shutting us down effectively.”
Marshall added: “At the moment, we’re just predictable and the opposition is working out that they can narrow the field on us.
“This criticism I’m putting out there is not critiquing individuals in particular. I still don’t feel that Damian McKenzie is playing bad rugby, but just within the game plan at the moment what we needed to do at the weekend was change up our attack.
“By doing that, it would mean putting him on the bench, maybe Beauden to 10 and Will Jordan to full-back and just changing the dynamic of what Argentina were seeing.
“It’s not individuals out of form, it’s just that we’re slightly out of sync at the moment. What the problem is, is that our attack is so narrow.”
Wing issues too
Marshall insists that there are also problems on the wing. Mark Tele’a and Reece, like McKenzie, are not playing poorly, but the All Blacks great is concerned that they hampered the team against Argentina.
“Again, it’s not a criticism of either of these two players, [but] playing Sevu Reece and Mark Tele’a together, what they do is narrow our attack,” he said.
“They both gravitate towards the ball, they both gravitate towards rucks, they want to pick and go, they want to be a second or first receiver.
“Ultimately, it’s what led to Mark Tele’a’s try, [but] just think about the picture it’s painting to the Argentinian defence when you don’t have your wingers holding width.
“When we make our substitutes, when we make our change of thought process in terms of what we’re going to do because we’ve been worked out, we need to think about all those elements. I just don’t think we’re doing that at the moment.”
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