Damian McKenzie set key targets for Japan clash after All Blacks fly ...

The All Blacks’ clash with Japan could well be significant for Damian McKenzie as he seeks to reclaim the fly-half shirt from Beauden Barrett.

That is the word from coach Jason Holland, who discussed the playmaking duel ahead of this weekend’s tour opener against the Brave Blossoms.

McKenzie has been reinstated in the number 10 jersey after being dropped for Barrett in New Zealand’s final match of the Rugby Championship against the Wallabies.

Barrett impressed as they comfortably defeated Australia 33-13 in late September, while the Chiefs star revised his role from the 2023 Rugby World Cup by coming on as an impact replacement.

Despite McKenzie returning to the XV, it is a makeshift All Blacks side with Scott Robertson opting to give opportunities to some fringe members of the squad.

That is potentially instructive ahead of their huge clash against England where Barrett could well come back in at fly-half, but Holland unsurprisingly does not see it that way.

The coach is hoping that they can spur each other on to greater heights and give New Zealand at least two genuine options in the pivot position looking towards 2025.

“It’s good competition isn’t it? Beaudie has really taken his opportunity, when he got his start at 10, and we want to encourage that competition,” he told Stuff.

“We would like to see DMac come in and own the game, and manage the game, and make sure he expresses himself in the way that Damian does.

“Yep, it’s definitely a big game for all of us, in that there is a lot of competition in the squad. The thing with DMac is that he continues to be himself and that he manages the game really well.”

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McKenzie was selected as Richie Mo’unga’s successor at the start of 2024 and he was vehemently backed by Robertson.

He started the first eight games of the campaign but was then dropped for their final match of the Rugby Championship.

That decision came after an inconsistent display in the first Bledisloe Cup clash where moments of brilliance were interspersed with basic errors.

Holland admits that the 29-year-old needs to eradicate those mistakes but, at the same time, they do not want to curb his natural game.

“With a guy that has got the skill level of DMac, it is definitely not a ‘don’t worry about it’ – it is to make sure we finish and just think around how to do that,” he said.

“So a lot of the time in our game, doing the simple stuff really well, works. We don’t need to push anything because we have got such a high skill level.

“DMac would be disappointed in those things where we saw his brilliance with the breaks but we don’t quite finish. So we have got a real focus around finishing, to start this tour and that will continue all the way through to make sure that we finish whatever we do.”

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