Damian McKenzie insists the series-deciding clash at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore carries real weight despite New Zealand having no path to winning the Greatest Rivalry Series outright. The All Blacks trail 2-1 after back-to-back defeats on South African soil, leaving them needing a win to level the series and share the trophy.
McKenzie acknowledged the lessons from Saturday's 29-24 loss in Soweto must be absorbed quickly. "We've got to build on what we've done well and also learn from what we didn't quite do well," he said. "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."
The Chiefs back pointed to a consistent ability to create chances across the three Tests — New Zealand have outscored the Springboks 13 tries to eight across the series — but identified the failure to convert momentum shifts as the critical gap. "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."
McKenzie described the third Test as a physically punishing encounter, particularly given the altitude demands at FNB Stadium. "There was a lot of ball in play for long periods of time, especially at altitude, and the lungs started to feel it."
On the specifics required to take Baltimore, he kept it direct: "We need to improve on a couple of moments around when we score points, being clinical, making sure we take the kick-off and getting ourselves in the right areas of the field. We're not far away; we just have to be more disciplined and execute in those high-pressure moments."