Damian McKenzie has received some praise from his coaches after an early injection into last night's Test against France - and even got an approval for his work at halfback by his teammates.
McKenzie entered last night's 26-13 win over France in Wellington in the 12th minute after starting first-five Beauden Barrett was forced off with a head knock - he was then kept off after failing a head injury assessment.
But All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said there were some negatives and positives to McKenzie's first extended outing at flyhalf.
"We were probably guilty of playing too much in our half," he said.
"But the flip side of it is we saw how dangerous he can be on broken play... and the work he did in setting up Jordie's second try, again, shows his value."
Head coach Steve Hansen said he was impressed with McKenzie's 10-minute stint covering halfback as well after TJ Perenara was yellow carded midway through the second half.
"[Aaron Smith] made the comment, 'if we need a halfback to kick the ball we might get Damian to come in there because he was the only one that kicked it properly tonight from the base'.
"His core skills look pretty tidy but lets get him operating at 10 first - but he's an option."
McKenzie converted from fullback to first-five at the start of this season after the All Blacks management saw his potential as a playmaker due to his speed and vision.
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