Codie Joshua Dane Taylor (born 31 March 1991) is a New Zealand
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...
footballer who plays as a
hooker for
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
in
Super Rugby
Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
,
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour.
...
in the
ITM Cup
ITM may stand for:
Education
* ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
* ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University
* ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India
* Institut Tekn ...
, and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
internationally.
Having grown up in Feilding and Levin before moving to Christchurch,
he was a member of the Wider Training Squad for the
2012 Super Rugby season
The 2012 Super Rugby season was the second season of the current 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involves teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. For sponsorship reasons, this competition is known as FxPro Super R ...
and he has subsequently been promoted to the senior squad for the
2013 season, before making his international debut in 2015.
Taylor was the winner of
Tom French Cup
In rugby union, the Tom French Cup is an honour awarded by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Tom French Memorial Māori player of the year. The cup has been awarded annually since 1949, when it was donated to the New Zealand Māori coach To ...
in 2018. He was also a nominee for the New Zealand Rugby Player of the Year in 2018.
Playing career
Early career
Taylor was part of the
Junior All Blacks
The All Blacks XV is the second national rugby union team of New Zealand, after the All Blacks. New Zealand's second national team has had numerous names in its history: Junior All Blacks, New Zealand XV, New Zealand A, New Zealand B, All Blacks ...
team which won the
2011 IRB Junior World Championship
The 2011 IRB Junior World Championship was the fourth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaced the now defunct under 19 and under 21 world championships. The event was organised by rugby's ...
.
Of
Ngāti Raukawa
Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa.
History
Early history
Ngāti Raukawa reco ...
and
Muaūpoko
Muaūpoko is a Māori iwi on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand.
Muaūpoko are descended from the ancestor Tara, whose name has been given to many New Zealand landmarks, most notably Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington). His people were known as Ngā ...
descent, Taylor played for the
Māori All Blacks
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing i ...
in 2014.
Taylor was selected for the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
2015 Squad, having surpassed
Ben Funnell as the Crusaders' first-choice hooker suring the
2015 Super Rugby season
The 2015 Super Rugby season was the 20th season of Super Rugby and the fifth season featuring an expanded 15-team format. For sponsorship reasons, this competition was known as Asteron Life Super Rugby in Australia, Investec Super Rugby in New ...
. His first game for the All Blacks was the opening match of the
2015 Rugby Championship
The 2015 Rugby Championship was the fourth edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship consisting of Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.
The 2015 Championship was a shorter competition than normal, with ...
against Argentina, when he came off the bench in the 59th minute to replace the now-retired veteran
Keven Mealamu
Keven Filipo Mealamu (born 20 March 1979) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team. He was a key membe ...
. He scored a try on debut, in the 71st minute, after the All Blacks won a scrum close to the Argentine line.
Taylor was named in the
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
31-man squad to go to the
Rugby World Cup 2015
The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...
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
Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...
converted Taylor's try to make the final score 58–14.
2016–2017
Taylor surpassed the injury-plagued
Nathan Harris
Nathan Harris (born 1880) was an American baseball third baseman and captain in the pre-Negro leagues. He played for many of the best teams between 1900 and 1910.
Born and raised in Middleport, Ohio, Harris moved to Columbus, Ohio with his paren ...
as regular back-up to the All Blacks' starting hooker
Dane Coles
Dane or Danes may refer to:
People Pertaining to Denmark
* Dane, somebody from Denmark
* Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark
* Danes (Germanic tribe)
Other people
* Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...
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
Patrick Jonathan Lambie (born 17 October 1990) is a retired South African professional rugby union player who last played for in the French Top 14. He announced his retirement in January 2019 due to multiple concussions.
Early life
Lambie at ...
. 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
Liam James Coltman (born 25 January 1990) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a hooker for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship (NPC) and the in the international Super Rugby competition.
Coltman has also ...
in the 66th minute.
Taylor played his 50th game for the Crusaders during the
2017 Super Rugby season
The 2017 Super Rugby season was the 22nd season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. It was the second season featuring an expand ...
and earned a start against the touring
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
on 10 June 2017. The Crusaders' fixture against the Lions was a low-scoring 12–3 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 5 August 2017, with the Crusaders beating the Johannesburg-based
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
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 & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
, where Taylor scored the first try of the series after being set up to score, by Crusaders team-mate, winger
Israel Dagg
Israel Jamahl Akuhata Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a former New Zealand rugby union player who played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team, and represents Hawkes Bay in the ITM Cup.
Dagg played in ...
, 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 at Hooker 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
Taylor earned the award for Man of the Match against France on 9 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
Rieko Edward Ioane (; born 18 March 1997) is a New Zealand professional rugby union footballer who plays as a wing or as a centre for New Zealand team Blues in Super Rugby and the New Zealand national team. In his youth career, he was select ...
,
Damian McKenzie
Damian Sinclair McKenzie (born 20 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays fullback or First five-eighth for Waikato in the Bunnings NPC competition and Chiefs in super rugby . McKenzie has played 40 tests for New Zealand since ...
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.
Taylor went into the
2018 Rugby Championship
The 2018 Rugby Championship was the seventh edition of the expanded annual southern hemisphere Rugby Championship, featuring Argentina, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The competition is operated by SANZAAR, a joint venture of the four ...
in excellent form, having won another Super Rugby title with the Crusaders prior to the competition. Although the Crusaders managed to beat South Africa's
Lions
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
for the second year in a row in the Super Rugby Final, such an effort was not replicated internationally. Taylor was one of the few All Blacks to shine in round four of the Rugby Championship, with the All Blacks suffering a shock 34–36 loss to South Africa. Taylor exploited the slow speed of
Frans Malherbe
Jozua Francois Malherbe (born 14 March 1991) is a South African rugby union professional player. He plays as a tighthead prop for the South Africa national team and the in the United Rugby Championship.
Early life
Malherbe attended Paarl ...
and his opposite,
Malcolm Marx
Malcolm Justin Marx (born 13 July 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team and the Kubota Spears in the Japanese Top League. His regular position is hooker, but he did play as a flanker at yout ...
, to set up
Aaron Smith's try and also scored one for himself in the 60th minute. Taylor's performance was not enough to spark a late comeback however, with
Beauden Barrett
Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...
performing poorly in goal-kicking, as opposed to Man-of-the-Match
Handre Pollard. Although visibly fatigued from a huge workload, Taylor was retained in the starting lineup for the second test against South Africa, which was a late 32–30 win thanks to an
Ardie Savea
Ardie Suemalo Savea (born 14 October 1993) is a rugby union player who plays as a flanker or number 8 for in the ITM Cup, the Hurricanes in Super Rugby and international rugby for the New Zealand All Blacks. Savea was a member of New Zealan ...
try. Taylor's great performance saw the All Blacks win the Rugby Championship once again.
With New Zealand's ranking as the best rugby team in the world on the line during the
2018 end-of-year tour, Head Coach,
Steve Hansen
Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief Of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen.
He was the head coach of the New Zealand nati ...
, opted to keep Taylor as the first-choice hooker, despite the ageing
Dane Coles
Dane or Danes may refer to:
People Pertaining to Denmark
* Dane, somebody from Denmark
* Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark
* Danes (Germanic tribe)
Other people
* Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...
coming back from a long injury-enforced break.
Having started in every single test during 2018, Taylor was rested for 3 November Japan test. Taylor was then predictably named in the starting lineup for the
Hillary Shield
The Hillary Shield is contested between England and New Zealand at rugby union. The first match was played on 29 November 2008 at Twickenham Stadium, London.
The trophy is named in memory of the New Zealand mountaineer and explorer, Sir Edmund Hi ...
test against England, which was a narrow 16–15 win over England, an opponent that the All Blacks had not played since 2014. Having defeated England, the All Blacks played against Ireland the next week of the tour, on 17 November 2018. Ireland, ranked second in the world, went into half time ahead of the All Blacks however and Taylor was replaced by Dane Coles in the 46th minute of the test. The All Blacks went on to lose to Ireland, who are set to top the world rankings in 2019.
After a long season in 2018, Taylor was named the
Tom French Memorial Māori Player of the Year at the New Zealand Rugby Awards. Taylor was also nominated for the Kelvin R Tremain Memorial Player of the Year trophy, awarded to the best New Zealand rugby player, but lost out on the award to Black Ferns Sevens' halfback,
Kendra Cocksedge
Kendra Margaret Cocksedge (born 1 July 1988) is a retired New Zealand Rugby union, Rugby Union player and Cricket, Cricketer. She played for the New Zealand Women's national rugby union side, the Black Ferns and for the Canterbury representative ...
.
2019
Following the
2019 Super Rugby season
The 2019 Super Rugby season was the 24th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition organised by SANZAAR between teams from Argentina, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. The 2019 season was the second season using the ...
, Taylor played in four of New Zealand's warm-up tests prior to the World Cup, including their record 26-47 defeat at the hands of Australia during the
2019 Rugby Championship
Nineteen or 19 may refer to:
* 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20
* one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019
Films
* ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film
* ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film
Mus ...
.
All Blacks Head Coach,
Steve Hansen
Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief Of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen.
He was the head coach of the New Zealand nati ...
named Taylor in New Zealand's 31-man squad for the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
on 28 August 2019, with the competition set to be Taylor's second World Cup.
Taylor played five tests at the World Cup and went on to start in the quarter-final against Ireland. Taylor scored a try in the 46-14 win, which saw New Zealand progress to the semi-finals. The semi-final saw Taylor, as well as England number 8,
Billy Vunipola
Billy Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays at Rugby union positions#Number eight, Number 8 for Saracens F.C., Saracens in the Premiership Rugby, Gallagher Premiership and for the England national rugby ...
, play their 50th test. Despite praise from fellow All Black
Dane Coles
Dane or Danes may refer to:
People Pertaining to Denmark
* Dane, somebody from Denmark
* Danes, an ethnic group native to Denmark
* Danes (Germanic tribe)
Other people
* Dane (name), a surname and a given name (and a list of people with the nam ...
, prior to the test, Taylor performed poorly against England, who beat New Zealand and eliminated them from the competition. New Zealand lost to England 7-19.
List of international test tries
Updated: 2 November 2019
Source:''
/small>
Personal life
Taylor is the great-great-grandson of
All Blacks
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
player
Walter Pringle (rugby union), Walter Pringle.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Codie
1991 births
Living people
People from Levin, New Zealand
People educated at Feilding High School
New Zealand rugby union players
New Zealand Māori rugby union players
Canterbury rugby union players
Crusaders (rugby union) players
Rugby union hookers
Māori All Blacks players
Ngāti Raukawa people
Muaūpoko people
People educated at Horowhenua College
New Zealand international rugby union players
Rugby union players from Manawatū-Whanganui