Kenneth John Taylor (born 30 November 1957) is a former 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 it ...

player. He was successful at provincial level for

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region i ...

and in the New Zealand Colts team, but only played a single non-test match 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, ...

Career

Taylor was born in Napier and brought up in central

. He was first selected at provincial level in 1977 and scored a try against the British Lions in his first season. The following year he was selected for the New Zealand Colts (U21) who made a domestic tour. Taylor scored three tries in five matches. He was a Junior All Black (U23) in 1979 and 1980, scoring a total of 10 tries in 10 matches. He worked for his family sawmill business, Waipawa Timber Supplies for 30 years, which was sold in 2013 but he continues to work there.

Waipawa United

Taylor started his rugby career at the small club in his home town of

Waipawa Waipawa is the second-largest town in Central Hawke's Bay in the east of the North Island of New Zealand. It has a population of At the 2013 census, it had a population of 1,965, a change of 2.2 percent from the 2006 census. The town is locate ...

. He played for almost 20 years as a player and a coach, He played alongside many great players of the club and many great Hawkes bay representatives. In 2001 Taylor attended the 75th jubilee for Waipawa United.

All Black

On 13 September 1980, a New Zealand XV played Fiji. The game was not a test match but the squad were all accredited All Black caps. Selection was restricted to players who had not appeared in the season's earlier tests against Australia and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Taylor score two tries on the wing before being injured with 14 minutes remaining and replaced by

Craig Wickes Craig David Wickes (born 26 February 1962) is a former New Zealand rugby player. He is notable as being the second-youngest All Black ever and the only player selected while still at high school. Career Wickes was born in Whakatane and his f ...

. This was his only appearance for his country due to injuries. Taylor continued playing for Hawke's Bay until 1985, when an injury ended his career mid-season. He played a total of 65 games for the Bay, scoring 25 tries.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Ken 1957 births Living people New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Hawke's Bay rugby union players Rugby union players from Napier, New Zealand Rugby union wings