All Blacks' Codie Taylor pays England an 'athletes' compliment

New Zealand hooker Codie Taylor insists the All Blacks’ seismic World Cup semi-final defeat by England will have no bearing on Saturday’s Twickenham clash. Taylor was in the starting XV in Yokohama three years ago as Eddie Jones’ men emerged emphatic 19-7 winners over the tournament favourites.

The 31-year-old veteran will be involved in the nations’ first clash since then in what will be the main event of the Autumn Nations Series for England. “You never like losing, but this is a new team. There were a few of us who were part of that 2019 side, but there are a lot of us who weren’t,” said Taylor, who played off the bench for the All Blacks in last Sunday’s win over Scotland.

“For us, it’s about building on the progress we have made over the last few weeks. Playing England is tough, a real arm wrestle. They are a nation who are really proud about their rugby and so are we.

“Their forward pack really sets up how they want to play and we think it will be much the same this year. They have got athletes who pride themselves on momentum. They also show some good innovation and play with good continuity. They have had some success and we just want to get stuck in.”