Damian McKenzie
New Zealand Under 20 star Damian Mckenzie will have to battle it out with his brother Marty for a spot at flyhalf for the Chiefs next year.
The 19-year-old flyhalf has a big future in the game, after showing hints of his sparkling ability with the New Zealand Under 20’s and Waikato’s NPC side this year.
Chiefs coach Dave Rennie has had his eye on McKenzie for years now, and is looking forward to seeing what he can bring to the team.
He will start third or fourth in the pecking order for the flyhalf position at the Chiefs, behind All Black Aaron Cruden, brother Marty McKenzie, and in a tie with Andrew Horrell.
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The real battle will be with brother Marty for that back-up spot on game days, a battle which will be forgotten when they head home each day, where they are living together.
Rennie said McKenzie is the sort of player the Chiefs have been targetting in recent years.
“What we’ve found in the last couple of years is that it helps having players who can play multiple positions,” Rennie said.
“Having Damian who can play No 10 and No 15 is great.
“We’ve got a number of options at No 15, and his brother and Aaron, and even Andrew Horrell as a No 10 option, so there’s good competition for places.”
Rennie said McKenzie is hard at work trying to improve aspects of his game.
“He’s a pretty impressive young character, but there’s areas of his game he’s got to develop that he’s aware of, and he’s working hard in those areas.
“He’s working hard to put on a little bit of muscle mass, just to help deal with the physical nature of the game.
“There will be a lot of big guys running down his channel, so he’s certainly working on the defensive side of things.”
It’s a case of working on the weaknesses without compromising the obvious strengths McKenzie possesses.
Despite his youth, McKenzie has made a name for himself as one of the most dangerous runners of the ball in the domestic game, something Rennie hopes he can translate to Super Rugby.
“He’s very quick, got great footwork, and he’ll stress defences.
“We’ve got that with all our No.10 options, which means you can’t try and put big numbers on our midfielders, you’ve got to defend out flyhalf as well which will hopefully leave space for the others.”
For McKenzie, he said this season is mainly about learning off the other players in the franchise, and particularly Cruden.
Should he get the chance to play, be it at fullback or his favoured flyhalf, he can’t wait to take the chance.
“If I just try and play my natural game, things will hopefully fall into place,” McKenzie said.
“There’s always a lot of pressure, but I’m looking forward to it.
“I’m happy to play wherever the team needs me to play, so if I get the chance to play at fullback I’ll happily give that a crack, but I’ve always played flyhalf.
“I did enjoy playing No 15 for the Under 20’s, so if I get the chance there I’ll be happy to play there.”
McKenzie is still eligible for the New Zealand Under 20’s in 2015, with the World Championships being played in Italy.
Rennie said he would like for McKenzie to play in that tournament and get world cup experience, but it will come down to the injury status of his team.