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Watch: All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor bamboozles Hurricanes defence to set up outstanding try

By Sam Smith
Sam Whitelock and Codie Taylor. (Photo by Andrew Cornaga/Photsports)

Having watched young Hurricanes hooker Asafo Aumua make mincemeat of the Blues defenders last weekend, Codie Taylor has sent the national selectors a reminder that he’s equally as capable of running like an outside back.

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Despite having the glut of territory and possession early in the Sunday afternoon clash between the Crusaders and the Hurricanes in Christchurch, the visitors struggled to build much ascendancy on the scoreboard.

The Hurricanes had just two penalties to show for the efforts – plus a pair of almost-tries that could have seriously dented the home side’s confidence – when the Crusaders marched the ball up the field through a brace of penalties.

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Ross Karl, Bryn Hall and James Parsons look back at the Crusaders win over the Highlanders and analyse Tony Brown’s comments about the high penalty count which he felt had an impact on the outcome of the game.

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Ross Karl, Bryn Hall and James Parsons look back at the Crusaders win over the Highlanders and analyse Tony Brown’s comments about the high penalty count which he felt had an impact on the outcome of the game.

A lineout penalty saw Ardie Savea sent to the sin-bin and from an ensuing penalty, Taylor took a quick tap and bashed his way over the line.

Fresh from the more traditional front-rower try, Taylor decided that he needed to stretch his legs amongst the backs.

Having shifted the ball to the left side of the field, the Crusaders headed back to the right, where Taylor was waiting in the midfield.

Receiving the ball just outside his side’s 22, Taylor put his head down and charged into a massive gap in the Hurricanes defensive line. Racing between prop Fraser Armstrong and flanker Reed Prinsep, Taylor put on the afterburners and charged almost 50 metres downfield until Hurricanes fullback Jordie Barrett raced up to meet the stampeding rhinoceros.

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With support on either side, Taylor spun a perfectly placed pass to the left for halfback Mitch Drummond – who was caught from behind by his opposite number.

Richie Mo’unga, like any good No 10, was racing up on Drummond’s inside and a flat offload from the halfback found its man. From there, it was a simple run to the try-line.

During his formative years of Super Rugby, Taylor made a name for himself as a damaging runner – equally as comfortable carting up the ball in the forwards as he was charging down the tramlines like a mini Jonah Lomu.

While the 29-year-old certainly never lost his pace, the All Blacks selectors will certainly appreciate being reminded that just because Taylor has picked up a few silver hairs over the years, he’s still just as potent a ball-runner as he was when he first burst onto the scene.

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Mo’unga’s converted score took the Crusaders out to a 14-6 lead but the pain wasn’t over for the Hurricanes, with the home side notching up two further tries throughout the eventful first half.

While the Hurricanes managed a shock win in Christchurch last year, ending a three-year home undefeated streak for the Super Rugby champions, there’s little chance of the visitors pulling off another upset now, trailing 26-6 at the break.

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J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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