Chiefs first-five Damian McKenzie needs to make "better choices" with his passing, says All Blacks selector Grant Fox.
The mercurial pivot threw another costly intercept pass to give the Hurricanes an early advantage in their quarter-final at Westpac Stadium on Friday and Fox recognises it's become a concerning habit that needs to be quelled.
"The cutout passes aren’t helpful," Fox told Jim Kayes and Andrew Gourdie on Radio LIVE's Sunday Sport.
"There a time and a place for them, but there have been too many intercepts passes this season, including in a test or two.
"He just needs to perhaps make better choices. At times, there's a player outside him and the better play is just to hit him, let that guy carry, set another phase and then go again."
McKenzie threw an ambitious wide pass in the opening minute of the contest that was picked off by Hurricanes winger Julian Savea, who then ran it in under the black dot to get his side off to the ideal start.
The Hurricanes ultimately won the contest 32-31 to put an end to the Chiefs 2018 title aspirations.
While not all of them have been as expensive as Friday's, McKenzie's intercept passes have been a rare blemish on another stand-out campaign for the livewire.
All Blacks Coach Steve Hansen and his cohorts have made it clear that they prefer the utility back to wear the number 10 jersey, and have him pencilled into their long-term plans as incumbent Beauden Barrett's back-up.
The risk involved with McKenzie's passing is simply symptomatic of the dynamism of players of his ilk, instincts that can't be discouraged, says Fox.
"You have to be careful with guys like Damian, because if you dial him back, you're not going to get the full benefit out of him at all. There is a balance."
Either way, Fox was adamant he and his fellow selectors are far from panicked, well aware of the talent they have on their hands. There's certainly no danger of McKenzie's missteps costing him his place in the squad for the upcoming Rugby Championship.
"I don’t think those things are that hard to fix, to be perfectly honest. We're not too worried."
"It's a learning experience for Damian. He's not going to miss out on our group, obviously.
"We’ll get him into our environment, and he'll sit down, go through it, take learnings out of it and keep developing."
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