Ex-All Black’s ‘no-brainer’ selection verdict for Springboks Tests: ‘He is Rennie’s guy’
All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor and an inset of head coach Dave Rennie.
Dave Rennie has a ‘no-brainer’ selection for the Springboks with Codie Taylor backed for the starting number two jersey in Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.
The veteran front-rower has been named as the stand-in tour captain in the absence of Ardie Savea, who arrives 10 days before the first Test match, but questions have been raised around whether he should still be the All Blacks’ first-choice hooker.
Samisoni Taukei’aho and Asafo Aumua arguably had better Super Rugby Pacific seasons than the 109-Test-cap Crusaders man, but it was Taylor who head coach Rennie trusted to start all three of the Nations Championship matches.
While he is facing stiff competition for the starting role, former Blues and All Blacks hooker James Parsons believes that it’s ‘clear’ that Taylor remains the man for the number two jumper against the Springboks. He weighed in on the debate during the latest episode of Sky Sport NZ’s Breakdown show, where he was joined by Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliaina.
Codie Taylor’s place in the All Blacks’ pecking order
Muliaina was first to address the topic when asked if Taylor is the first-choice by default, considering that he was handed the captaincy.
“Well, he is. He has been pretty solid in those last three performances that he has had. He’s a big leader, which Rennie has seen,” the former full-back replied.
“Again, we’ve got different types of players. You look at Aumua and the season he has had, and then Taukei’aho is hanging around as well. I like that mix for Codie and the other guys as well. It’s competition, and it’s great competition.”
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“It’ll bring the best out of Codie, and he’ll rise to that,” Parsons replied, adding that the bench role may even suit Aumua better.
“But I actually really like the role of what I saw from Asafo off the bench. I think that plays into his game. Even though he got that 50 minutes, he was still able to explode into that Irish Test. Where I think it gets challenging is if there are niggles, it’s Samisoni Taukei’aho – and he has had one of his strongest seasons. It’s one of the harder selections.”
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He is Dave Rennie’s guy
The former hooker was then asked by Wilson whether Taylor is ‘the guy for the first Test?’
“Yeah, that’s clear,” he said. “He is Rennie’s guy, and in that pressure-cooker environment at Ellis Park, he has played over 100 Tests; it’s just a no-brainer.”
Wilson added: “Look, I’m asking you because I’m with that 100%. He was there in 2022 when they had to step up, and one of the biggest challenges that organisation had in terms of how much pressure Ian Foster was under and that group had to galvanise, and they delivered in Joburg. For me, I want Codie Taylor to start in that hooker jersey.”
