Nine years after Ireland’s historic win over the All Blacks at Soldier Field, Codie Taylor says the lessons from that bruising day in Chicago still echo through the squad.
The veteran hooker was among the replacements in 2016, when New Zealand trailed by 17 points at half time and mounted a fierce fightback – only for a late Robbie Henshaw try to seal a 40-29 Irish victory, their first ever against the All Blacks.
Taylor, along with Ardie Savea and current captain Scott Barrett, came off the bench that day. Beauden Barrett is the only survivor from that starting XV still in the current 36-man squad.
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Now an All Blacks centurion, Taylor remembers that week in Chicago vividly.
“The week itself was pretty awesome, coming to Chicago for the first time, the Cubs won the World Series, massive parades of people in the city, four million or something, experiencing an NBA game, all that stuff was cool,” Taylor recalled.
“I just think we probably turned up and got caught up in the light of the city and went down to an Irish team that was pretty determined to beat us for the first time.”
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That defeat – a moment of sporting history for Ireland – would shape much of the modern rivalry between the two nations. And while time has passed, Taylor said the All Blacks’ preparation this time around shows how much they’ve learned from that experience.
“Lessons had been learned. For starters, the team arrived a couple of days earlier, utilising the weekend for leisure,” he explained. “Have a bit of fun early on. [Now], Test week has rolled in, there’s definitely a sense of intensity with the preparation.”
Photo: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images
The post Taylor: All Blacks got caught up in city lights appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Nine years after Ireland’s historic win over the All Blacks at Soldier Field, Codie Taylor says the lessons from that bruising day in Chicago still echo through the squad.
The post Taylor: All Blacks got caught up in city lights appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
