PLAYER PROFILE
Damian McKenzie
First five-eighth
KEY STATS
All Blacks Next match
All Blacks
France
BIOGRAPHY
All Black #1154
THE VERSATILE and upbeat Damian McKenzie made his All Blacks debut against Argentina in 2016 as a 21 year-old.
A player with many strings to his bow, McKenzie originally specialised at first five-eighth but was a stand-out in the New Zealand Under 20 team's campaign at the 2014 Junior World Championship, where he played at fullback. He has impressed in that position in 2016 for the Chiefs, where he has also performed goal-kicking duties.
McKenzie, who is affiliated to Ngati Tuwharetoa, caught the eye of the Maori All Blacks selectors with some assured performances for the Chiefs in 2015. He has also played for the Chiefs Development team in 2014, New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2013 and the New Zealand Schools Barbarians in 2012.
He won the New Zealand Age Group Player of the Year at the 2014 Steinlager Rugby Awards. The versatile player with a strong skill set, specialises at first five-eighth and was a stand-out in the New Zealand U20's campaign at the 2014 IRB Junior World Cup where he played at fullback.
The son of dairy farmers, McKenzie was born in Invercargill and educated at Christ's College, Christchurch. He played for the Chiefs in the 2015 Investec Super Rugby competition, and caught the eye with some assured performances. McKenzie has played for the Chiefs Development team in 2014, the New Zealand Secondary Schools in 2013 and the New Zealand Schools Barbarians in 2012.
He made his ITM Cup debut for Waikato in 2014, winning their Emerging Representative Player of the Year.
McKenzie suffered a season-ending knee injury while playing Super Rugby for the Chiefs in 2019 and missed out on selection for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. He was renamed in the All Blacks in 2020 after featuring for the North in the North v South match in Wellington.
In 2021, McKenzie landed his first penalty goal for the All Blacks - a 59-metre monster strike against Australia at Eden Park.