New All Black Bradley Slater: 'I’m not as good as them, but I bring a big work rate'

Do Not Disturb was set on Bradley Slater’s phone the night he went to bed before he was rushed onto the All Blacks tour of South Africa.

“I woke up on Monday to a few missed calls,” Slater told RugbyPass. “Oh god, something’s going on. I called them back. They answered straight away and explained George Bell was out. I was genuinely gutted for him. They said Hurry up, you’ve got to get to Auckland from New Plymouth to fly to Cape Town via Singapore. It was a bit of a mad dash. I arrived on Wednesday. The first game was against the Stormers on Friday.

“I debuted against the Sharks, coming on in the last 20 minutes. The boys really dominated them, so all I had to do was do my job.

“The most memorable thing about that game was the Ma’a Nonu haka. I got goosebumps. None of us knew what was going to happen. We thought he might haka at the same time as us. When he responded alone, it was like, wow. This is serious.”

His only other appearance on the tour was in the come-from-behind 41-35 victory over the Lions in Johannesburg. Slater said his focus coming on the field was still to do his role, but when behind, he stressed that you want to add additional impact without forcing things. Naturally, he was gutted that the All Blacks lost the Test series 3-1.

“One thing I learned in South Africa is just how much they love their rugby. The Springboks bring the country together. They’re everywhere on shirts, posters, and the radio. You can’t avoid them,” Slater said.

“The atmosphere on game days is awesome. They’re a big, experienced unit, and they’re clear in their game plan. I don’t think I’d change much about how we prepared. We had the game plan and the players. They just executed better than us.

“It was a proud moment to be picked for the All Blacks, though I didn’t tell anyone until I was in South Africa. Where do I fit? We’ve got good hooker depth at the moment, great power athletes like George Bell, Asafo Aumua and Samisoni Taukei’aho. I’m not as good as them, but I bring a big work rate, anticipation, and do my job as best I can.”

Team Form

Last 5 Games

38 - 21

32 - 21

24 - 25

24 - 31

57 - 42

68 - 26

14 - 50

55 - 19

27 - 25

28 - 12

3

Wins

4

1

Streak

3

24

Tries Scored

34

15

Points Difference

128

2/5

First Try

5/5

2/5

First Points

5/5

2/5

Race To 10 Points

5/5

A product of New Plymouth Boys’ High School, where he was the head boy in 2016 and a First XI cricketer and First XV rugby player, Slater has been serious about footy his whole life.

His father is former Taranaki lock Andy Slater, who played 183 games in Amber and Black between 1989 and 2001. His uncle Gordon Slater played 174 games from 1991 to 2005, captaining the Hurricanes in Super Rugby, for whom he played 56 games, in 2001 and 2002. Gordon is All Black #980. He played three Tests on the 2000 Northern Tour, beating Italy (56-19) and splitting a series with France. The All Blacks won the first Test 39-26 in Paris with Andrew Mertens kicking a record 9 penalties. In Marseille, France won a dramatic 42-33 victory with the brilliant Christophe Lamaison scoring 27 points.

Slater has been a model of consistency. In Super Rugby Pacific, he’s played 68 games for the Chiefs, helping them reach 40 wins and the final four times in seven seasons. Slater played only the 2024 decider, which they lost to his 2026 team, the Blues. He played 11 games for the Blues and scored four tries this year. Their combative, forward-oriented approach under “Stern” Vern Cotter suits the no-nonsense hooker.

Slater debuted for Taranaki in 2017 and has played 76 games for 45 wins. That includes a 2021 championship success, 2023 Premiership triumph and two successful Ranfurly Shield challenges against Canterbury (23-22) in 2020 and Tasman (42-29) in 2024. Slater has scored 21 tries for Taranaki, including four in the last three games, one in a 55-19 win against Southland, two in a 50-19 thrashing of Hawke’s Bay and another in the 68-26 slaughter of Wellington on Sunday.

In 2024, Slater scored twice in a 63-19 slaying of the Magpies in Napier.

“I was super proud of the boys’ effort against Hawke’s Bay. We’ve got ourselves in a position on the table where we have to win and win well just to make the quarter-finals. It was a really important game for us; we trained well for it. It was one of those rare occasions when everything transferred seamlessly,” Slater said.

“The NPC is awesome for rugby in New Zealand. Smaller provinces competing against bigger city teams makes for a more exciting competition. What Counties did in winning the Ranfurly Shield against Northland was special. A close competition makes it exciting for the fans. There were all kinds of top eight scenarios heading into last weekend.”

Taranaki’s scenario was simple: win, and they did, beating winless Wellington 68-26 in New Plymouth. Slater, who scored a try in Taranaki’s 39-20 win against Wellington in 2025, took nothing for granted.

“You never know what can happen. It’s all about who’s the best team on the day,” Slater said. “There are plenty of times Wellington teams have given me a hiding. Their attitude was that they had nothing to lose. They’ve got some dangerous players with that approach. They fought hard in patches, but it was a special day for us with two Barretts playing and Jared Proffit’s 100th.”

Remarkably, All Blacks Beauden and Scott Barrett played their first-ever game together for Taranaki. Scott’s last appearance had been in a 24-10 win against Southland in 2021. Beauden last played in the successful 23-22 Ranfurly Shield challenge against Canterbury in 2020.

Two reunions were celebrated on the weekend: the 1976 Taranaki team that went 12-0 came together, as did the 1996 Ranfurly Shield-winning team that upset Auckland 42-39 at Eden Park. Second-five Dean Magon scored a memorable hat-trick. Bradley’s dad, Andy, played No.8.

Yarrows Stadium was also renamed after Maori All Blacks prop Jared Proffit, who celebrates his 100th game for Taranaki, the first centurion since fellow prop Tony Penn in 2008. Proffit debuted for Taranaki in 2015 and has enjoyed 55 wins.

“Playing 100 NPC games is a rare feat, but not a surprise for Jared,” Slater acclaimed. “He’s one of those guys you trust implicitly. He’s strong at scrum time, demands high standards and leads through his actions. He’s backbone.”

Wellington and Taranaki play for the John F. Henning Trophy donated by the then US Ambassador in 1969. Overall, the pair have clashed 178 times in first-class fixtures since 1894, with Wellington winning 124 to Taranaki’s 49, plus five draws and one abandonment. In the NPC, Wellington leads 31-8.

Taranaki finished the regular season in fifth place and travels to Albany for their sudden-death semifinal against North Harbour this Saturday.