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Will Jordan’s praise for Codie Taylor after remarkable 150th appearance

Corey Kellow and Codie Taylor of Crusaders share a moment following the round eight Super Rugby match between Crusaders and Fijian Drua at Apollo Projects Stadium, on April 03, 2026, in Christchurch, New Zealand. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

Crusaders fullback Will Jordan has reflected on Codie Taylor’s “awesome” milestone appearance for the club on Friday night, with the front-rower finishing with a four-try haul in a 69-26 win over the Fijian Drua at Apollo Projects Stadium.

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Taylor was the first player out onto the field, becoming the latest member of the 150-game club at the Crusaders. This fixture marked another special appearance for the All Black at the temporary venue, having debuted for both club and country there.

The 35-year-old played 52 minutes against the Drua before being replaced, receiving a standing ovation from the Crusaders coaching staff and the fans in attendance. In the last match at Apollo Projects Stadium, Taylor had delivered a stunning Player of the Match-calibre performance.

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Sevu Reece and Leicester Fainga’anuku crossed for an early try each before Taylor crashed over from a rolling maul. There was a sense of déjà vu when the hooker scored from another set-piece play only a few minutes later, but this time over near the other sideline.

Taylor completed a hat-trick inside the first couple minutes of the second term before running in for try number four soon after. Jordan explained post-game the 2026 Crusaders wanted to “leave our mark” at the stadium, and Taylor certainly helped the side do just that.

“He’s special. It was an awesome way for him to bring it up, four tries,” Jordan reflected on Sky Sport.

“It’s a great night for him and his family, you saw him run out, you know how much of a family man he is. He’s someone who just goes to the well every week; nothing flashy, just rolls his sleeves up and cares really deeply for this team, and you see that in his performances.

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“He’s someone who goes out there and leads from the front and we try and follow it.”

15 years on from the Christchurch earthquake, the Crusaders made their way out onto the field at their temporary stadium, which has served them well over the years. The Crusaders won four Super Rugby Grand Finals there, but are now set to write a new chapter in the club’s illustrious history.

Match Summary

0
Penalty Goals
0
11
Tries
4
7
Conversions
3
0
Drop Goals
0
133
Carries
152
10
Line Breaks
4
18
Turnovers Lost
26
13
Turnovers Won
7

One New Zealand Stadium, Te Kaha, is officially open and will host a Crusaders game for the first time in a few weeks. They will take on the NSW Waratahs on April 24 in the first game of Super Round, with five games set to be played at the stadium over three days.

“Firstly I just want to give all glory to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, gave his life on this day, this holy day,” Taylor said.

“What a special moment. To go out like that on this stadium, to get the job done and to pull this jersey on for the 150th time.

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“I’m just so grateful. I love this team, love this club. Thank you so much to all the fans for coming out tonight. I don’t think us as Crusaders can say how much you guys actually mean to us and how much you are a big part of the success we’ve had over the years.

“It’s been a place of bringing this community together, a place of hope, of love, and we’re just glad that we get to represent you guys every week, putting on the red and black jersey so thank you.”

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JW 5 hours ago
New report details source of Ardie Savea's All Blacks frustrations

Yeah it’s hard to be critical of Razor but of choices in his first year of the loosies he constantly played Ardie at 8. It would seem that was always the plan and that Hoskins was surplas to requirements (7, with Dalton then Cane, as was fairly happy with but understand the calls to drop Cane for his last test, along with TJ, and 6 was shared around nicely I thought) and he didn’t have the alround game of Ardie to simply overtake him at 8 (and use Ardie elsewhere). Of course he did that exact thing next year, too late for HS. Then last year 7 was fine if though the same problem was brought about by using Ardie (always leaves a component of a back three missing) there so often stopping Dalton from getting opportunities. At 6 Parker just had one or two too many games for me but 8 was shuffled around nicely, even if I don’t know why Lakai was thought to be the key there.

Of course a lot of rotation was brought about by, you guesed it, injury, still. Now to be fair to Razor, in reality we have no idea if he had to manage Ardie this way, based on NZRs desires with his contract (we have seen them move heaven and earth to retain him), and if he benched him often whether that would have caused him to leave or not. Or even that Hoskins would have accepted a jersey unless it was with a single digit on it, and a regular pick, as he had had to work his way back to the team without a big bump in his contract (of loosing AB selection early on) of other people his standing, so he also might have still put his family and therefor more over the jersey.



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