Stand-in All Blacks captain Codie Taylor on Ardie Savea: 'He deserves a break'

Codie Taylor says Ardie Savea’s belated arrival in South Africa for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tour is a deserved rest for the All Blacks captain.

Standing in for Savea for the opening matches of the tour while the 2023 World Rugby Player of the Year enjoys some more downtime with family in New Zealand, Taylor and his troops were welcomed in Cape Town to begin their historic tour on Friday.

There will be eight games over seven weeks, including two midweek games and a series finale in the USA. Taylor will take charge of the opening three fixtures, against the Stormers, Sharks and Bulls, before Savea rejoins the squad ahead of the opening Test against the Springboks in Johannesburg.

“I’m just taking that role on while Ardie isn’t here,” the hooker explained to media at DHL Stadium. “It’s a huge privilege to lead a group of men like we have, and when Ardie gets back, he’ll have that belt again, and rightly so.

“But Ardie’s been playing a lot of rugby over the last — I don’t know how long, 18 months or so, so he deserves a break.

“We’ve got a massive calendar that we’re working into this year, and I don’t think it starts any harder than coming to play South Africa and the club teams here.”

Head-to-Head

Last 5 Meetings

Wins

4

Draws

0

Wins

1

Average Points scored

24

17

First try wins

40%

Home team wins

60%

It’s exactly 30 years since the All Blacks’ last long-form tour in South Africa, and even though Taylor, with 109 Tests since his 2015 debut, is no stranger to South African shores, he says this tour is different.

“It’s unique for us; we’ve got a wider squad, and there’s going to be midweek games. And although it’s going to be tough, it gives everyone an opportunity, and it also allows us to work on our game throughout the midweek and work into those Test matches.

“So, it’s all-new for us, but this team, the standards are so high, Dave’s been driving it really well, and we’re just looking forward to playing some rugby.”

The Test matches will pit world No.1 against world No.2, with South Africa and New Zealand also the only teams to emerge from the opening block of Nations Championship games unbeaten.

“Both teams have started really well; we haven’t lost yet,” Taylor reflected. “We started slow and built our way into the three Tests we had back home, and we sort of got to a place that we were pretty happy with, which is great, but Dave (Rennie, All Blacks head coach) is always looking for more.

“And South Africa are the same, they’re an amazing team. We’re under no illusion that they’re world champions for a reason, and it’s going to be a really hard series over here. But it makes for a great contest, and we’re really looking forward to it.”

Meanwhile, playing against the club teams will have an air of nostalgia for Taylor, who enjoyed seven seasons of Super Rugby against South African opposition before their 2019 exit from the competition.

“It sucks not being able to come over here for Super Rugby. I used to love these tours, love the contests that we had against all of the clubs. It’s a different brand of rugby to what we get back home, and you get a taste of it when you come over here; big, physical men, great set piece sides, but then also backs that can burn you pretty quick.

“Just want to really relish the opportunity to play these teams again; it’s been a long time. I was remembering back in 2019, being over here to play the Stormers, and what a game that was; we drew.

“The competitiveness is always there, even though we don’t play each other a lot. It is what it is, and hey, who knows? Maybe one day it will happen again.”

The 35-year-old tweaked his calf last time out, but says he is “tracking well” and expects to be fully fit and available for each game this tour, not wanting to miss a moment.

“We know how much South Africa get up for these home Tests, so it’s going to be a great challenge.”