Mac McKenzie [All Black #28]
 The eldest of five sons of a family that had a huge impact on rugby in this country in the first half of the 20th century William McKenzie, a wing forward, first played for Wairarapa as an 18 year old in 1889. He was selected for the first official New Zealand side which toured Australia in 1893 and had a successful tour, playing in nine of the eleven matches. Ordered off in the last match of the tour, ‘Mac’ created a little niche for himself in rugby folk lore by leaving the field with an affected limp, to sympathetic applause from the spectators.
Linking up with the Petone club McKenzie represented Wellington from 1893 to 1897 and New Zealand at home against New South Wales 1894 and Quensland 1896. He toured Australia once more in 1897, again appearing in nine of the eleven tour matches. ‘Mac’, credited with developing the wing forward position into a specialist role, and described by one commentator as “inclined to be a little hotheaded and rash when aglow with the spirit of battle”, had his playing career cut short by rheumatism. A charity match was played in 1901 to send him to Rotorua for treatment. He served as Wairarapa selector in 1902, 03 and later moved to Australia for health reasons. Three other McKenzie brothers were very prominent in New Zealand rugby. Ted and Bert were test referees whilst Norman was Hawkes Bay sole selector 1916-46, including its 1922-27 Ranfurly Shield tenure. Ted and Norman were both All Black selectors and life members of the NZRFU. The fifth brother, Jack represented Wairarapa 1899-1903. Profile by Bob Luxford |
| FULL NAME | William McKenzie |
| BORN | Monday, 12 June 1871 in Parkvale, New Zealand |
| DIED | Thursday, 1 July 1943 in Melbourne, Australia |
| PHYSICAL | 83kg |
| POSITION | Wing forward |
| LAST SCHOOL | Clareville School |
| RUGBY CLUB (First made All Blacks from) |
Petone |
| PROVINCES | Wairarapa, Wellington |
| NICKNAME | Offside Mac |
| ALL BLACK DEBUT | Wednesday, 21 June 1893 v Combined XV at Wellington aged 22 years, 9 days |
| ALL BLACK TESTS | 0 |
| ALL BLACK GAMES | 20 |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK MATCHES | 20 |
| STARTING POSITIONS | |
| ALL BLACK GAME POINTS | 23pts (8t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| TOTAL ALL BLACK POINTS | 23pts (8t, 0c, 0p, 0dg, 0m) |
| ALL BLACK NUMBER | 28 |
ALL BLACK GAMES THAT MCKENZIE PLAYED(+) = substitute; (-) = replaced |
| Click on the date below to view the Match Card |
1893 |
| 21 Jun vs Combined XV at Wellington 7-4 |
| 28 Jun vs Cumberland County at Sydney 8-0 |
| 1 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 17-8 |
| 4 Jul vs N.S.W. Junior XV at Sydney 19-0 |
| 6 Jul vs Northern Districts at Newcastle 25-3 |
| 8 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 3-25 |
| 15 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 12-3 |
| 22 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 35-0 |
| 29 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 16-0 |
1894 |
| 15 Sep vs N.S.W. at Christchurch 6-8 |
1896 |
| 15 Aug vs Queensland at Wellington 9-0 |
1897 |
| 3 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 13-8 |
| 6 Jul vs Western Districts at Bathurst 16-15 |
| 8 Jul vs Central-Western Districts at Orange 27-3 |
| 10 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 8-22 |
| 14 Jul vs Northern N.S.W. at Newcastle 16-0 |
| 17 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 16-5 |
| 21 Jul vs Queensland 2nd XV at Brisbane 29-5 |
| 24 Jul vs Queensland at Brisbane 24-6 |
| 31 Jul vs N.S.W. at Sydney 26-3 |
POINTS SCORED FOR THE ALL BLACKS |
t | c | p | dg | pts |
| vs N.S.W. Junior XV, 4 Jul 1893 | 1 | – | – | – | 2 |
| vs Queensland, 15 Jul 1893 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Queensland, 22 Jul 1893 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Queensland, 15 Aug 1896 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Western Districts, 6 Jul 1897 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Central-Western Districts, 8 Jul 1897 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Northern N.S.W., 14 Jul 1897 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| vs Queensland 2nd XV, 21 Jul 1897 | 1 | – | – | – | 3 |
| Totals | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23 |
|
McKenzie played in no test matches for the All Blacks. |
