Hayden Taylor primed as relegation game looms

1.00pm

As the most experienced campaigner in the Northland rugby team, Hayden Taylor left for Nelson today with a distinct advantage over most of his teammates.

He is one of only four players in the Northland squad who have played in Nelson before.

Taylor, winger Fero Lasagavibau, halfback Steven Moore and captain Jared Going were all part of the Northland team who thrashed Nelson Bays by 73 points.

After scoring four tries on the wing to celebrate his 50th appearance in the Northland jersey, Taylor never thought he would be back at Trafalgar Park again.

Not on Northland duty anyway.

That he is now poised to play an integral role in a Northland team battling to defend their first division status against a resurgent Nelson Bays outfit is an irony not lost on him.

"It has been a while since playing down in Nelson. I wasn't expecting to be back down there so soon, well, ever again actually," Taylor said.

"Playing in the second division was never what we wanted, but I'm looking forward to the game now and hopefully we can show what we can do," he said.

Now 29, barring a stint overseas last season, Taylor has been part of the Northland rugby scene since he first made the team as a fresh faced 18-year-old.

Ushered straight back into the Northland squad when he returned from France earlier this year, Taylor was handed a critical leadership role in a team that was short on first division match experience.

He knows he will shoulder a similar burden on Saturday too.

"For a start when I came back it was hard for me because I was the new boy again for a while. There were a lot of new faces in the team, not many who I recognised from the guys I had played with for a few years," he said.

"We haven't had the best season for sure, but I think there has just been a bit of a lack of belief sometimes. Hopefully we can go down to Nelson and show what we are capable of.

"Things have changed, I'm not sure everything that has changed is for the best, but we'll see, now we just want to keep our place in the first division and then we'll see how it goes."

Taylor has been named at second five-eighth on Saturday with Manu Burkhardt-Macrae at centre. Despite playing most of his representative rugby as a fullback, Taylor has been used in the Northland midfield all season.

Australian Julian Huxley has been ushered straight back into the starting team as well, despite not being available for training and only flying in to join the team in Nelson tonight.

The starting team are otherwise very familiar, with Northland coach Bruce Hodder keeping faith with his starting players as he has for most of the season.

Nelson Bays coach Wayne Love is not expected to confirm his starting team until tonight.

Northland: Jared Going (captain), Fero Lasagavibau, Manu Burkhardt-Macrae, Hayden Taylor, Matt Faleuka, Julian Huxley, Rhyan Caine, Jake Paringatai, Aaron Wright, Maseke Davu, Brad Taylor, Tim Henwood, Ryan Wederall, Tim Dow, Bronson Murray.

Reserves: Simon Lemalu, Stan Wright, Mike von Dincklage, Luke Ottley, Steven Moore, Josh Levi, Thomas Toailoa.

- NZPA

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