Damian McKenzie

Damian McKenzie is the most entertaining player New Zealand have picked in a decade and the one their coaches have most consistently hesitated over.

The reason is the same in both cases. He plays with a willingness to attack from positions where the orthodox option is to kick, and at 175cm he does it against defenders who have every physical advantage. When it works it is the best thing in a Test match. When it does not, the counter-attack is going the other way.

He is a genuinely excellent goal-kicker with an unusual routine — the smile before the strike has become part of his public identity — and his percentages hold up under pressure.

A knee injury cost him the 2019 World Cup, which is the great missing chapter of his career. He returned, spent a sabbatical season at Suntory in Japan, and came back to the Chiefs and to Test selection.

He has played fullback and fly-half at the highest level and been picked in both, sometimes in the same series.

He is now in his thirties and has spent the whole of his career being an argument. New Zealand keep having it because the alternative is a duller team.