All Black Will Jordan ‘Excited’ for Damian McKenzie’s Fly-Half Start

All Black Will Jordan, who scored his 36th try in just 38 Tests against England last weekend, has voiced his support for team-mate Damian McKenzie ahead of their match against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night. McKenzie, aged 29, is set to begin the game in the visitor’s ten jersey in Dublin. This follows Beauden Barrett sustaining an injury during their victory over England the previous week. “It’s exciting. Damian is someone who loves to play the game with an attacking mindset and flair,” Jordan stated. He continued, “I’ve had a couple of games with him at ten and me out the back and I’ve enjoyed the combination we’ve had. “We get on well together off the park, good friends. It’s always fun running out with someone that you’re close with.” Jordan added, “I know he’ll be excited to take this opportunity. He’s had some great moments for us in the black jersey this year and I’m sure he’ll go out and nail it on Friday night.” Although New Zealand emerged victorious when these teams last met, securing a 28-24 win in the quarter-final stage of the 2023 World Cup, Jordan believes that previous encounters hold little relevance for Friday’s fixture, particularly with Scott Robertson now serving as the All Blacks’ head coach. “Inside you’ve got good memories of what happened last year but, in terms of as a team, it’s not something we’ve touched on a lot. “We’ve obviously got a pretty new coaching staff, playing the game a bit differently to how we were then,” he explained. He concluded by saying, “In terms of how we’ve previewed it, it’s been a little bit different and there’s been a decent change to the team that we had 12 months ago, so it’s a bit of a clean slate in that regard.”