Codie Taylor

Codie Taylor
Full name Codie Joshua Dane Taylor
Date of birth (1991-03-31) 31 March 1991
Place of birth Levin, New Zealand
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 111 kg (17 st 7 lb; 245 lb)
School Feilding High School
Horowhenua College[1]
Notable relative(s) Walter Pringle (great-great-grandfather)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Current team Canterbury, Crusaders
All Black No. 1143
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2012– Canterbury 22 (25)
2013– Crusaders 62 (55)
Correct as of 20 May 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 New Zealand U20 5 (0)
2014 Māori All Blacks 2 (5)
2015– New Zealand 37 (45)
Correct as of 29 September 2018

Codie Joshua Dane Taylor (born 31 March 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a hooker for Crusaders in Super Rugby, Canterbury in the ITM Cup, and New Zealand internationally.[2] Having grown up in Feilding and Levin before moving to Christchurch[3] he was a member of the Crusaders Wider Training Squad for the 2012 Super Rugby season and he has subsequently been promoted to the senior squad for the 2013 season, before making his international debut in 2015.[4][5]

Playing Career

Early Career

Taylor was part of the Junior All Blacks team which won the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship.[6]

Of Ngāti Raukawa and Muaūpoko descent, Taylor played for the Māori All Blacks in 2014.[7]

Taylor was selected for the All Blacks 2015 Squad, having surpassed Ben Funnell as the Crusaders' first-choice hooker suring the 2015 Super Rugby season. [8] His first game for the All Blacks was the opening match of the 2015 Rugby Championship against Argentina, when he came off the bench in the 59th minute to replace the now-retired veteran Keven Mealamu. He scored a try on debut, in the 71st minute, after the All Blacks won a scrum close to the Argentine line.[9]

Taylor was named in the All Blacks 31-man squad to go to the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England. Taylor only made one appearance in the competition during the pool stages, which was New Zealand and Namibia's first international fixture. Taylor lasted the whole 80 minutes against Namibia and was not replaced by Mealamu, ending the test by scoring a try in the 79th minute. First-five Beauden Barrett converted Taylor's try to make the final score 58-14.

2016-2017

Taylor surpassed the injury-plagued Nathan Harris as regular back-up to the All Blacks' starting hooker Dane Coles off the bench in 2016, following Keven Mealamu's retirement after the 2015 Rugby World Cup's conclusion. Taylor also notably earned a start against Australia in the first match of the 2016 Rugby Championship, but was unfortunately subbed off after three minutes of play for a head injury assessment and was replaced by Coles. Taylor did not return to the field that match and James Parsons was temporarily re-called to the All Blacks during Taylor's recovery from injury.

Taylor had notable involvement in the 57-15 win against South Africa in Durban on 6 October 2016, scoring a try off a driving maul and also receiving a yellow card long after the full time had passed, following a head-high tackle on Springboks fullback Patrick Lambie. Taylor also earned another start for the All Blacks later that year in the 68-10 victory over Italy, making his way for debutant Liam Coltman in the 66th minute.

Taylor played his 50th game for the Crusaders during the 2017 Super Rugby season and earned a start against the touring British and Irish Lions on the 10th June 2017. The Crusaders' fixture against the British and Irish Lions was a low-scoring 3-12 loss for the Crusaders, with Taylor being subbed off in the 50th minute. Taylor's incredible performances throughout the Super Rugby season saw him start in all three of the knockout rounds of the competition, where he made a big impact. Taylor scored one of only two tries in the quarter-final, as the Crusaders beat the Highlanders 17-0 at home in Christchurch. Taylor performed well in the 2017 Super Rugby Final, on 5th August 2017, with the Crusaders beating the Johannesburg-based Lions 25-17 to claim their eighth Super Rugby title.

In 2017, also had a huge workload for the All Blacks. Taylor stepped up to the role of being a regular starter for the All Blacks following Dane Coles' 5 months out with a concussion. This saw Taylor starting in all three historic tests against the British and Irish Lions, where Taylor scored the first try of the series after being set up to score by Crusaders team-mate, winger Israel Dagg, with Taylor's try enabling the All Blacks to win the first test 30-15. The All Blacks unfortunately failed to win against the Lions in the next two tests in the series, with the two teams drawing the series. Taylor kept the starting role until Coles returned to international rugby on 26 August 2017, which was a 35-29 win against Australia that Taylor took part in off the bench.

After Coles was injured again, against France on the end-of-year tour, Taylor started twice more in 2017, starting in wins against Scotland and Wales. Taylor ended the 2017 season as New Zealand's clear first-choice hooker and was the only player in the All Blacks squad that played in every single test of 2017, seven as a starter and seven as a substitute for Coles off the bench. Taylor's opening try against Scotland on 18 November 2017, a 22-17 win over Scotland, also saw him finish the year as the All Blacks' highest try scorer of the forward pack, with four tries in the 2017 season.

2018 Season

Taylor earned the award for Man of the Match against France on the 9th June 2018, after what was arguably the best individual performance in Taylor's whole career saw him score a try in the 52nd minute and also set up outside backs Rieko Ioane, Damian McKenzie and Ben Smith for tries, with the latter of them scoring his 30th test try off Taylor's pass. Taylor's outstanding 63-minute performance saw him earn mass acclaim from media and saw the All Blacks beat France 52-11 to open their 2018 season. Taylor backed up his performance in the first test against France by starting in the next two tests against France as well, with the All Blacks winning the series 3-0.

Personal life

Taylor is the great-great-grandson of All Blacks player Walter Pringle [10] and is a father-of-one.

References

  1. ↑ Strang, Ben (30 June 2011). "Taylor made for NZU20s". Horowhenua Mail. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Codie Taylor Canterbury profile". Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  3. ↑ "Super Rugby Profile: Crusaders – Codie Taylor". Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  4. ↑ "2013 Investec Super Rugby Crusaders squad announced". Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Codie Taylor Crusaders Player Profile". Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  6. ↑ "Codie Taylor IRB JWC Profile". Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Codie Taylor". New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  8. ↑ http://www.allblacks.com/News/27518/all-blacks-squad-named-for-samoa-investec-rugby-championship-and-bledisloe-test
  9. ↑ http://www.3news.co.nz/sport/video-all-blacks-power-past-argentina-39-18---rugby-championship-2015071721
  10. ↑ Knowler, Richard (21 June 2015). "Crusader Codie Taylor hooks All Blacks' spot". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.