Samisoni Taukei'aho faces trial by fire against Springboks lineout dismantlers
It wasn’t long ago that Samisoni Taukei’aho couldn’t deliver a ball into the lineout to save himself.
In 2020, the 24-year-old started the Super Rugby season as the Chiefs’ first-choice hooker but was supplanted by Bradley Slater due to his greater reliability at the set-piece. Week after week, Taukei’aho joined the fray late in the game and week after week, the big rake struggled to hit his targets at lineout time.
That changed late in the year, however, when Taukei’aho linked up with Waikato and put in the hard yards to make sure his accuracy was up there with the best in the business.
Come the Chiefs’ 2021 campaign, Taukei’aho had seemingly overcome the yips that had plagued him earlier in his career and finished the season as one of New Zealand’s best proponents at sending the ball into the lineout. The Chiefs’ set-piece was safe as houses and although Taukei’aho missed out on the initial All Blacks squad for the season – with Codie Taylor, Dane Coles and Asafo Aumua preferred – he was quickly brought into the team when Aumua was hit by injury.
When Coles also ran into troubles, Taukei’aho was thrust into the matchday 23 and capped off a memorable debut against Fiji with two tries off the back of rolling mauls.
He also went on to make four further bench appearances on the trot before making his first and only start in a black jersey to date, running out against Argentina in the latter stages of the Rugby Championship.
At that point in the season, Taukei’aho had arguably been the All Blacks’ best performing hooker from the campaign, never failing to make an impact from the bench and inevitably chewing through some valuable metres late in the game.
Still, the All Blacks persisted with the considerably more experienced Codie Taylor – a man who at one point had been arguably the best hooker in the world – in the No 2 jersey for the end-of-year tour, despite middling form from the veteran and, in the final game of the year, opting for Dane Coles.
2022 started similarly, with Taylor handed the starting duties in each of the three tests against Ireland in July. Taukei’aho had to settle for 48 minutes off the bench in the first two matches before being omitted from the final game altogether.
Now, perhaps with his coaching position on the line, Ian Foster has finally handed Samisoni Taukei’aho a second chance to impress in a starting role – and it couldn’t come in a more hostile arena.
40,000 South African fans will be making it very clear to Taukei’aho on Saturday what they think of the travelling All Blacks side, and doing everything they can to throw the young hooker off his game at the set-piece.
Two years ago, the thought of Taukei’aho trying to deliver clean ball to the lineout while under pressure from the considerable frames of Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager and Pieter-Steph du Toit would have given All Blacks fans horrific nightmares.
Understandably, there will still be some unease around Taukei’aho’s reliability at lineout time. While he’s been secure in recent times of the Chiefs and in his few opportunities off the bench for New Zealand, handing him just a second start in a game against the Springboks in South Africa perhaps isn’t the best way to ease him into the role. It’s the hand he’s been dealt by coach Foster, however, and one he’ll need to make the most of if the All Blacks are to have any hope of securing a victory in Mbombela.
The All Blacks struggled at times against the Springboks’ set-piece last year during their two Rugby Championship matches and while the out-of-form Taylor likely isn’t the man for the job against South Africa this year, it would have been preferable for Taukei’aho to have clocked up some starts throughout the past eight matches simply as a way of further acclimatising him to the duties at international level.
Taukei’aho will find himself going head-to-head with two of the best hookers in the game at present, Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi, and it’s difficult to envisage a greater challenge than being tasked with taking on those two monsters of the game in front of braying South Africa crowd.
Saturday’s match will be a trial by fire for young Samisoni Taukei’aho, but one he’ll undoubtedly take in his stride – he’ll have to if the All Blacks are looking to avoid starting the Rugby Championship on the back foot.
Comments on RugbyPass
Absolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
5 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
5 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to comments