Jury remains out on Damian McKenzie as he gets another crack at No.10 against Ireland

“Ah, D-Mac is D-Mac, isn’t he?” said New Zealand boss Scott Robertson when asked about his playmaker in Dublin this week.

'RUGBY MARMITE': Damian McKenzie during a New Zealand rugby squad training session at Wanderers Football Club in Dublin this week. Pic Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Damian McKenzie turns 30 in less than six months. He has 58 caps with the All Blacks to his name, an enormous body of work put together with the Chiefs and another bulging portfolio from his ties with Waikato.

There have been appearances with the New Zealand Maori, the Kiwi XVs side, the national U20s and a short stint with Tokyo Sungoliath. And yet the jury, somehow, remains holed up in a room locked in endless debate as to his worth.