Asked if he still felt pressure in the prestigious black jersey after 100 test caps, the 34-year-old said anyone who claims they don’t feel it would be lying.
“It’s something that you’ve got to deal with and you’ve got to make a choice [about] whether you step to it or you don’t, and there really is only one choice in test footy, because if you don’t step up then you get found out.”
The hooker is just the 14th player to join the illustrious centurion club, doing so in the All Blacks’ loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires last month.
Vice-captain Ardie Savea will be the 15th, named to start at openside flanker against the Springboks on Saturday night.
Taylor says the Springboks are “physical men” and still a great team despite their recent 38-22 loss to Australia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg last month.
“They know the way they want to play. They’re physical men. When they get down in your half, they’re going to try and beat you up and then they use their set piece to build a good platform for their backs, who can also play.
“They’ve got some great skill players in their team and they’ve got a lot of variation, so they’re a tough team to preview. At the end of the day it’s just about physicality and turning up.”
He said the fact that every team had won and lost a game in the opening two rounds of the Rugby Championship was not a surprise and reflects the tight nature of the competition.
“It’s always close and that’s the way you want it, I suppose, for test footy. But as All Blacks, we need to be better and that’s what we’re striving to be.”
Speaking after the All Blacks’ captain’s run on Friday afternoon, skipper Scott Barrett said there was “certainly plenty of feeling and emotion in behind this one”.
“We’ve talked about the 50-odd thousand that are going to be in behind us, as well as the rest of the country and we love these big test matches and we’re certainly excited about playing South Africa at home,” Barrett said.
“These are the games you want to be in.”
