Rugby: 'Hell of a kid' did it for Chiefs on debut

Damian McKenzie of the Chiefs. Photo / Getty Images

A key cause of last year's inconsistent Chiefs campaign was the mid-season absence of Aaron Cruden.

In the six games Cruden was kept from the starting line-up by a broken thumb, the Chiefs lacked verve, direction and lost on three occasions.

All Blacks commitments mean Cruden will again sit out some of this Super Rugby season but, based on Saturday's opening-round win over the Blues, the Chiefs will lose little without their first-choice No 10.

Damian McKenzie took just one match to underline his considerable promise and vindicate the coaches' decision to select him, ahead of older brother Marty, to play in place of a resting Cruden.

The 19-year-old, in his Super Rugby debut, looked like an established pro in leading his side to a 23-18 win. In fact, he looked a lot like Cruden.

"He's very similar to Az in a lot of ways - maybe a tad quicker," said coach Dave Rennie, worryingly enough for the rest of the competition. "We've got a lot of confidence in him because he's a hell of a kid and he works really hard on his game.

"The thing you love about him is he's so brave. He's the type of kid that if he missed a couple of shots at goal it's not going to affect the way he plays. He'll still challenge the line and use people around him."

The decision to start the teenager over one-time Blues pivot Marty was one, apparently, agonised over in the week leading up to the match. Rennie was much less equivocal when asked post-match whether McKenzie's immediate step up to Super Rugby level had been anticipated.

"Yeah," the coach replied. "It's what we expected."

The performance perhaps would have also been expected by those who watched McKenzie star in last year's under-20 World Cup - though only the most optimistic would have seen the assured display coming so soon in his career. McKenzie could never be described as an intimidating physical presence - Rennie joked the first-five was "massive" after putting on a couple of kilos since arriving in camp - but he gained 100m by constantly taking on the line and his nine tackles were the most among both teams' backs.

"He's so confident and he's such a tough little bugger," Rennie said. "He put a lot of tackles in, he carried courageously and kicked for goal outstandingly well."

Rennie was unsure how the reintroduction of Cruden - with Brodie Retallick and Liam Messam - would be handled before Friday's game against the Brumbies, but McKenzie left the coach in no doubt he could again be trusted.

"It's good to know we've got another strong candidate at 10."