Jack Taylor: From Waimumu to playing for the All Blacks XV in England

The most halcyon period in the 135-year history of the Barbarians, a British-based invitation-only club known for its free-spirited style, was the 1970s. The All Blacks were famously conquered in Cardiff in 1973, with Gareth Edwards scoring what is arguably the most famous try in rugby history. In February 2023, Edwards’ jersey from that match sold for £240,000, setting a record for rugby memorabilia.

Throughout the decade, the Barbarians played 88 matches, winning 57 of them. In contrast, the Springboks, marginalised by international condemnation of the apartheid regime, played only 24 Test matches. They did not play an official Test match for three years following their controversial series win over the All Blacks in 1976, which led to 29 countries boycotting the Montreal Olympics in protest of New Zealand’s refusal to support United Nations calls for a sporting embargo on South Africa.

Fast forward four decades, and the two-time defending Rugby World Cup champion Springboks are the hottest commodity in international rugby.

When the Barbarians host the All Blacks XV at the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, West London, on Saturday, there will be no fewer than 11 South Africans in the Barbarians’ starting XV.

The formidable front row will feature Bongi Mbonambi, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner with 56 victories in 81 Tests, alongside Oli Kebble and Asenathi Ntlabakanye. Mbonambi will directly oppose Jack Taylor, a 22-year-old from Soutland, who is making his debut for the All Blacks XV and is far too young and unassuming to be burdened by the past.

“She’s going to be some hard yakka,” Taylor told RugbyPass in a laconic southern drawl.

“The Baa-Bass are a proud club. There’s some heavy South African boys in there, I can’t wait to get stuck in.”

An unpretentious personality, coupled with a combative ‘roll you’re sleeves up’ approach, has earned Taylor the middle of five siblings from a farming background, his first international call-up since featuring for the New Zealand Under-20s at the World Rugby Under-20 Championship in 2023.

During the 2025 NPC, Jack Taylor increased his appearances for Southland to 29, playing a crucial role in their first three-match winning streak since 2013. This streak included the iconic 25-10 victory over Waikato, which allowed Southland to claim the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 2011. Taylor, who was substituted with just five minutes remaining, was captured in an emotional sideline celebration that went viral.

“We only had it, a couple of days,” Taylor laughed.

At least Taylor was able to score a try in the 54-14 defeat against Canterbury just six days after the Hamilton heist.

“I got a bit of stick for that, but those celebrations show just how much it meant. It was bloody special, like the good old days,” Taylor added.

Southland successfully challenged for the Ranfurly Shield twice, in 2009 and 2011. Players like “Whoppa” (Jamie Mackintosh), “Cabbage” (Jason Rutledge), “Gony” (Scott Eade), and “Lurch” (Josh Bekhuis) left a lasting impression on a generation of youngsters in Invercargill, including Jack’s brother, Jimmy ‘The Boot’ Taylor.

The New Zealand Secondary Schools’ first-five or fullback helped Southland Boys’ High School achieve an improbable National Top Four title in 2023 by kicking a 45-meter drop goal in the final. In 2025, he also kicked a 40-meter drop goal for Southland to narrowly defeat fierce rivals King’s High School 27-26 with the last play of the Southern Schools Rugby Championship.

“I don’t kick drop goals,” Jack laughed.

However, he does score tries. He achieved a record three tries by a Stags forward in a single match in a 59-35 slaying of North Harbour on October 5, 2024, a game during which Rugby Park was renamed Bekhuis Park in honour of the lock’s record 144th and final appearance for Southland. Additionally, while at Southland Boys’ High School, Jack helped the First XV maintain an unbeaten record on their home ground, Les George Oval, which stretches back to 2015.

Taylor has made 23 appearances for the Highlanders in Super Rugby Pacific, debuting in a 57-24 win over the Fijian Drua in February 2023 in Dunedin, just six months before his Southland debut in a 21-29 loss to Waikato in Invercargill.

He had to wait until 2024 to add to his Highlanders tally, but featured 22 times in the last two seasons. In 2025, the Highlanders recorded the fourth-best lineout in Super Rugby Pacific, while Taylor scored his first two Super Rugby Pacific tries and caught the attention of selectors with his energetic play. His older brother, Harry Taylor, also plays hooker for Otago.

The Taylor family hails from Waimumu, a rural settlement located 14km southwest of Gore. Though the population is only a couple of hundred, it hosts the Southern Field Days, a biennial agricultural trade show held across a 57-hectare (140-acre) site that attracts about 700 exhibitors and 40,000 attendees.