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Sorry Bok fans... this call may come back to bite Rassie
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Codie Taylor: New All Blacks coaches 'want us to be a lot fitter'
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Dave Rennie has sent the message, letting every player in the hunt for All Blacks selection know just how high his standards will be for their fitness levels.
It’s indicative of the game plan the new head coach is planning to implement, says team centurion Codie Taylor.
In his few public engagements since being announced in the role, Rennie has shared his desire to reinvigorate the All Blacks’ counter-attacking play, stressed work rate as a pillar of his selection criteria, and highlighted breakdown physicality as a must for his forwards.
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Taylor is no stranger to elite conditioning demands. Having debuted for the All Blacks 11 years ago, the 35-year-old is one of just two All Blacks remaining from the squad that won the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
“I think it’s something you have to maintain over the season and build on,” Taylor told Millsy and Guy on Sport Nation, when asked how he trains to achieve peak fitness during the international season.
“It’s not something you can just do in preseason and expect it to stay the same. I’m a firm believer that you should put in a bit of hard work each week to get those fitness levels up.
“And by the sounds of it, what I’ve gathered from the small conversations I’ve had with the All Blacks coaches is that they want us to be a lot fitter. I assume that’s just the brand of rugby they want to play.
“So, I think we’re in pretty good shape. This back end of Super Rugby, you want to be as fresh as possible for the games, because they only get more and more intense each week you go.”
Rennie and company will have just 12 days between naming the first All Blacks squad of the year and playing the first Test of the year, not enough time to build fitness levels but certainly enough time to set a tone. Taylor says he’s anticipating “a bit of hard work” once the team comes together, but also an emphasis on rest after a demanding Super Rugby season.
“That calendar rolls around pretty quickly, so it’ll be an interesting one to balance out,” the veteran said, knowing there’ll be a lot of information to take on board with new strategists in place, too.
Now in his 13th season with the Crusaders, Taylor says he’s not getting comfortable and is continuing to grow his game. In 2026, he has decided his next step is to follow his Kiwi counterparts in the hooker position’s lead and work on his ball-carrying ability.
Fellow All Blacks Asafo Aumua of the Hurricanes and Samisoni Taukei’aho of the Chiefs are both renowned for their ball-carrying abilities, as were the All Blacks hookers when Taylor first came into the team: Kevin Mealamu and Dane Coles.
“There are always things you want to be working on, and things that you take pride in,” Taylor said.
“I see good opportunities; we’re always measured on set piece as hookers, so always driving that area of the game, making sure we’re doing our best there. And the way the game is now, it’s pretty dynamic, so getting ball in hand and growing that part of my game is something that I’ve been really trying to work on this year. You don’t always get those opportunities, but when you do, you want to make the most of them.”
