'A lot to play for’: McKenzie confident All Blacks can level Greatest Rivalry series
SPOTLIGHT: While the All Blacks will head into the final Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Series in Baltimore with no chance of winning the series outright, utility back Damian McKenzie insists the clash still carries massive significance.
New Zealand will arrive at M&T Bank Stadium trailing the Springboks 2-1 and desperate to level the historic series and share a piece of the trophy.
After their 24-29 loss at FNB Stadium in Soweto last Saturday, the All Blacks will be underdogs heading into the US showdown, while the Boks have a firm grip on the series.
McKenzie, disappointed after his side’s second consecutive loss on South African soil, said the All Blacks will have to take key lessons from the defeat into the final Test.
“We’ve got to build on what we’ve done well and also learn from what we didn’t quite do well,” he said after the loss in Soweto.
“We’ll take our learnings for next week. There’s still going to be another big Test in Baltimore.
“The South African boys are up 2-1, so there’s a lot to play for next week.”
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The All Blacks might have fallen short twice against the world champions, but McKenzie remains optimistic they can turn things around.
He believes they have created enough opportunities throughout the tour, outscoring the Boks by 13 tries to eight, but said they will need to string together more key moments if they are to come out on top.
“We’ve created a lot of opportunities throughout every Test match we’ve played,” he added.
“We had a great win in the first Test but were obviously disappointed to lose the last two Tests, but we’ve created enough here.
“I guess for us, our learnings will be to stack more moments on top of each other. There were a couple of times where we couldn’t quite win the momentum swings, and the South African boys did. Those are the moments we need to create and build on.”
After winning the opening Test at Ellis Park, McKenzie said that victory ranked ‘right up there’ among the highlights of his career.
Asked where last Saturday’s pulsating clash ranked, the Chiefs playmaker described it as a ‘bruising’ encounter.
“The three Tests over here have been brutal encounters.
“There was a lot of ball in play in the third Test, for long periods of time, especially at altitude, and the lungs started to feel it, but I guess that’s the nature of Test rugby over here.
“When you play a team like South Africa, they’re going to put you under pressure at times. It was really a tough test, a bruising encounter.”
As for where the All Blacks need to sharpen up to win the final Test, McKenzie believes it comes down to the basic areas.
“We need to improve on a couple of moments around when we score points, being able to be clinical around making sure we take the kick-off and getting ourselves in the right areas of the field.
“We did that for a lot of periods of the game but just not enough.
“We’re not far away, we’re not far off; we just have to be more disciplined and execute in those high-pressure moments.”
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