Damian McKenzie

Damian McKenzie

Full name	Damian Sinclair McKenzie
Date of birth	(1995-04-20) 20 April 1995
Place of birth	Invercargill, New Zealand
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	81 kg (12 st 11 lb; 179 lb)
School	Christ's College
Notable relative(s)	Marty McKenzie (brother)
Rugby union career
Position(s) First five-eighth, Fullback Current team Waikato, Chiefs All Black No. 1154 Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014– Waikato 24 (249) 2015– Chiefs 65 (557) Correct as of 20 July 2018 National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 2014 New Zealand U20 5 (25) 2015–2017 Maori All Blacks 4 (17) 2016– New Zealand 19 (60) Correct as of 25 September 2018

Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays Fullback or First-Five Eighth, for Waikato in the Mitre 10 Cup^[1] and for the Chiefs in Super Rugby. He also plays international test rugby for the All Blacks.

Early life

McKenzie, of Pākehā and Māori descent, was born in 1995 in Invercargill. He received his secondary education at Christ's College in Christchurch.^[2]

Domestic rugby

McKenzie has received attention for his trademark smile before attempting a kick at goal.

Since the beginning of the 2015 season, McKenzie has been contracted to the Chiefs franchise who compete in the Super Rugby competition.^[3] He has become a regular starter and is often in charge of goal kicking.

In 2016, McKenzie played every game in the Chiefs' starting line-up at Fullback. He finished the 2016 Super Rugby season as the Chiefs top try-scorer and the overall second highest try-scorer with 10 tries, behind Waratahs outside-back Israel Folau. He also finished the season as the second highest point-scorer with 199 points (10 tries, 43 conversion goals and 21 penalty goals); behind Hurricanes First Five Eighth Beauden Barrett.

In 2018, Damian McKenzie was the SANZAAR Player of the Season for the third year running. He ranked top of the charts for carries, metres and defenders beaten in the 2017 Super Rugby season, while also ranked in the top three for clean breaks and points scored.

International

McKenzie represented New Zealand Under-20 during the 2014 IRB Junior World Championship scoring 1 try, 7 conversions and 2 penalties in 5 games.^[4]

On 29 May 2016, McKenzie was named in New Zealand's 33-man All Blacks squad for the June Test series against Wales.^[5] Although he was part of the All Blacks training camp, he did not play during the Test series due to winger Israel Dagg's return from injury.

McKenzie was initially excluded from being part of the All Blacks' 33-man squad for the 2016 Rugby Championship but was called up as injury cover for winger Waisake Naholo following Naholo tearing a hamstring. On 1 October 2016, McKenzie made his international test debut coming off the bench as a replacement for Ryan Crotty in the 48th minute during New Zealand's 36-17 win over Argentina in the round 5 of the Rugby Championship. On the 2016 All Blacks Northern Hemisphere Tour and following the All Blacks' first ever defeat to Ireland, he made his starting debut in the starting 15 playing at Fullback in the teams' 68-10 win over Italy. McKenzie was not subbed off against Italy and played the full 80 minutes, with Israel Dagg subbed off in McKenzie's favour.

On 17th June 2017, McKenzie started for the Māori All Blacks at first-five-eighth against the touring British and Irish Lions in Rotorua. McKenzie played until the 67th minute when he was replaced by Ihaia West, with the Māori All Blacks losing to the tourists 10-32 as Lions first-five Jonathan Sexton outperformed McKenzie.

Despite an outstanding Super Rugby campaign with the Chiefs in 2017, McKenzie was not selected in the initial squad for the All Blacks for the Pasifika Challenge against Samoa and the three-test British and Irish Lions series, with the uncapped Hurricanes utility back Jordie Barrett being selected at McKenzie's expense. However, he was recalled to the team following Ben Smith's concussion in the first test. Despite being re-called, McKenzie did not manage to make the field in the black jersey against the Lions.

Barrett was ruled out for the rest of 2017 with shoulder surgery following the conclusion of Super Rugby, while vice-captain Ben Smith took a sabbatical following a 35-29 victory over Australia on 26th August 2017. The week prior which was a 54-34 win over the Australians saw McKenzie score his first try for the All Blacks off a pass from Rieko Ioane. His performances starting against Australia saw McKenzie become a regular starter for the All Blacks and he played in every single Rugby Championship test starting at fullback in 2017. Following a good performance against Argentina in Buenos Aires on 1 October 2017, where he scored a try and set All Blacks captain Kieran Read up for the opening try, McKenzie earned the award for Man of the Match. McKenzie earned that honour in two consecutive tests, winning the award the following week in the 25-24 win against South Africa where he played well and scored another try. McKenzie's try in the second test against South Africa saw him finish the 2017 Rugby Championship as the third-to-highest try scorer in the competition behind Rieko Ioane and Wallaby fullback Israel Folau, finishing the competition with four tries.

McKenzie's great form from the Rugby Championship continued in the 2017 end-of-year tests, with McKenzie not struggling defensively against Australia and France. McKenzie was able to maintain form and ended the 2017 season with good performances in wins over Scotland and Wales.

References