Chiefs v Crusaders
Kick-off: 7:05pm Friday 21 Feb
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Live blog updates on RNZ Sport
Two tries, a statement win, and a lot of other boxes ticked. Not a bad start to the season for one of the most talked-about players in the country, plus Damian McKenzie did that all playing fullback rather than first five in the Chiefs' 25-14 win over the Blues at Eden Park.
So does he stay at fullback, considering Josh Jacomb also had a very productive game at first five? We'll know on Wednesday when the teams get named, but for now McKenzie isn't getting too far ahead of himself about the impact he had.
"It's probably every team's not at their peak match fitness at the moment, so that could be a factor." he said at Chiefs training on Monday.
"But I think just the way the team are playing, a lot of expensive rugby. The ball's sped up at the ruck is allowing more chances to score tries and defences are tiring a little bit more."
It's a view shared by assistant coach David Hill, himself a former Chiefs first five.
"We're in the entertainment business and obviously doing a good job around speeding up the tempo of the game. Less stoppages and more moving on, so I think that's great. That just means that it's a little different challenge defensively now, because you're gonna have to deal with little bit of fatigue speed on the ball is a little bit higher, little bit faster."
Leroy Carter of the Chiefs celebrates his try with Damian McKenzie. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz
Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan admitted on Saturday night that his selection was based on rewarding his players that had gone through the entire preseason, hence why McKenzie and Josh Lord were the only All Blacks from the end of year tour to start. Tupou Vaa'i, Samipeni Finau, Cortez Ratima and Anton Lienert-Brown came off the bench in a scenario similar to the Springboks' famous 'bomb squad', and their injection into the game certainly played a big role in the win.
Reading between the lines it certainly feels like McMillan's side to face the Crusaders on Friday night in Hamilton will usher those players back into the starting line-up, with McKenzie returning to first five and Jacomb dropping back to the bench.
McMillan still has Shaun Stevenson to return from his brief stint in Japan as well, however the one-test All Black's utility might see him shifted to the wing. The Chiefs' do have options at fullback in the meantime, with Etene Nanai-Seturo and Kaleb Trask capable of filling in there, but the McKenzie/Jacomb axis is an intriguing one - especially given how prominent McKenzie was at first receiver throughout the Eden Park game anyway.
They next face a Crusaders team with an interesting but highly first five situation of their own, with Taha Kemara and James O'Connor putting in excellent shifts in their win over the Hurricanes.
