{"id":566867,"date":"2026-08-12T16:22:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:22:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/566867\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:22:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:22:09","slug":"all-blacks-dave-rennie-issues-damian-mckenzie-injury-update-and-provides-which-direction-verdict-on-billy-proctors-replacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/566867\/","title":{"rendered":"All Blacks: Dave Rennie issues Damian McKenzie injury update and provides ‘which direction’ verdict on Billy Proctor’s replacement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dave Rennie has revealed the extent of Damian McKenzie\u2019s injury after twisting his ankle in the All Blacks\u2019 0-54 victory over the Sharks<\/a> on Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n

The talented fullback was removed in just the 33rd minute of the game in Durban, leaving the Hollywoodbets Kings Park<\/a> with obvious signs of discomfort. He had been visibly struggling after landing awkwardly in the opening exchanges, before being removed by concerned medical staff.<\/p>\n

The All Blacks head coach told the press following the match that his early removal was, however, simply a precaution.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just twisted his ankle when he came down on that high ball in the first minute,\u201d Rennie<\/a> explained. \u201cHe was running around. We had it strapped, but it was just a little bit ginger. So we decided just to play it safe. So he\u2019s not too bad. We\u2019d expect him to be fine for the first test.\u201d<\/p>\n

The All Blacks still have a week and a half until their first Test against the Springboks. In the meantime, they will face the Bulls in their final warm-up Test. McKenzie<\/a> will likely be rested to give his ankle a full chance to recover.<\/p>\n

Sharks v All Blacks: Winners and losers as centre sets the \u2018gold standard\u2019 while Ma\u2019a Nonu shows \u2018tremendous\u2019 aggression<\/a><\/p>\n

Proctor\u2019s replacement<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Rennie remains on the hunt for Billy Proctor\u2019s replacement, after the 27-year-old was forced to return home after suffering a serious shoulder injury in Friday\u2019s 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town.<\/p>\n

A statement, released on Sunday by New Zealand Rugby<\/a>, revealed the extent of his injury, saying: \u201cScans have revealed Billy Proctor has a shoulder blade fracture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will not require surgery but will take approximately 10 to 12 weeks of recovery, meaning Billy has been ruled out of the remainder of the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proctor was expected to be a key member of the All Blacks squad heading into the four-match Test series with South Africa, but Rennie will now consider whether he will call up experienced fly-half Richie Mo\u2019unga to the squad, or will he look to hybrid player Du\u2019Plessis Kirifi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve decided we wouldn\u2019t make a decision on Billy\u2019s replacement till after tonight\u2019s game, mainly because we\u2019ll see what comes through here, and if we got a couple other injuries, that might decide which direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

An announcement is expected within the coming days.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0All Blacks player ratings v Sharks: Outside bets \u2018strengthen cases\u2019 for Rugby\u2019s Greatest Rivalry Tests amid Jordie Barrett \u2018masterclass\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dave Rennie has revealed the extent of Damian McKenzie\u2019s injury after twisting his ankle in the All Blacks\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566868,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[1463,1464,111,43,139,69,6327,213],"class_list":["post-566867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=566867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/566867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/566868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=566867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=566867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=566867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}