Thomas James Taylor (born 11 March 1989) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played as a second five-eighth or first five-eighth for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.[1] and Canterbury in the ITM Cup. He can also play fullback.
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| Birth name | Thomas James Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 11 March 1989 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb; 198 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Burnside High School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Warwick Taylor (father) Murray Taylor (uncle) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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He made his debut for the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 2013.
Career
editIn the 2009, affiliated with the Canterbury ITM side,[2] Taylor was involved in the champion New Zealand Under 20 team[3] along with Zac Guildford[4]
In 2011 Taylor debuted for Canterbury against North Otago.[5] He trained with the Crusaders[6] and was part of the Canterbury squad that went on to win that year's ITM Cup Championship final against Waikato.[3]
In November 2011 he was named in the Crusaders squad[6] for 2012. In his first start, against the Cheetahs in March 2012, Taylor opened the Crusaders scoring with a penalty six minutes in. He had a successful game with the boot and ended up converting the game's final try, for Crusaders to win 28–21.[7] The next week, playing at second five-eighth against the Lions,[8] he kicked two penalties and three conversions[citation needed] and the Crusaders won 23–13.[8] On 14 April he was back at first five-eighth to help the Crusaders end the Stormers unbeaten run.[9] Taylor scored a try, converted it, and kicked eight penalties from eight attempts.[citation needed]
In 2013, Taylor made his debut for the All Blacks, starting ahead of Colin Slade at first five-eighth in the second Rugby Championship/Bledisloe Cup match against Australia after injuries to Aaron Cruden, Beauden Barrett and Dan Carter. He kicked four penalty goals and a conversion goal (14 points) to help the All Blacks to a 27–16 win at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.[10]
In March 2015, Taylor announced that he would join French Top 14 Rugby Club Bayonne.[11]
Personal life
editIn 2010 Taylor was studying towards his Bachelor of Science in geography at the University of Canterbury.[3]
Taylor's relatives include father Warwick, a second five-eighth,[6] who played for Canterbury from 1982 to 1990 and the All Blacks from 1983 to 1988, and uncle Murray Taylor, a first five-eighth who played for the All Blacks[3] in 1979 and 1980.
References
edit- ^ "Taylor leads Crusaders to victory". The New Zealand Herald. APN Holdings. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ Davidson, Martin (22 June 2009). "NZ retain world under-20 rugby title". Rugby Heaven. Fairfax. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Directory | Crusaders".
- ^ "New Zealand All Blacks rugby team official website, New Zealand Rugby Football Union". Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Canterbury Rugby Union – Home".
- ^ a b c "Crusaders 2012 Squad announced" (Press release). CRFU. 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Crusaders welcomed home with a win" (Press release). CRFU. 25 March 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ a b "Crusaders tame Lions" (Press release). CRFU. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ "Crusaders discipline ends Stormers unbeaten run" (Press release). CRFU. 14 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
- ^ Hinton, Marc (24 August 2013). "All Blacks just too strong for Wallabies". Stuff. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
- ^ "Crusader Tom Taylor signs with French Top 14 club". TVNZ.