Taylor discovers personal haka link
Codie Taylor’s new nickname says a lot about his brief journey as an All Black.
The 24-year-old has found out a lot about himself since the national selectors sprung a surprise and called the Sydenham hooker up for the Rugby Championship.
But nothing prepared him for the squad’s visit to the Ngati Toa marae in Wellington on the eve of their departure for the World Cup in England.
Born in Levin, Taylor has affiliations to Ngati Raukawa and Muaupoko and represented New Zealand Maori last year, but unanswered questions about his genealogy remained until a Ngati Toa elder filled in the gaps.
Taylor’s grandfather Te Mana was adopted to another Maori family, so didn’t know a lot his roots, but it turns out he was a direct descendent of the originators of the All Blacks famous haka.
‘‘Funnily enough I didn’t even know any of the stuff I found out at the marae,’’ Taylor told Fairfax Media ahead of his first test start against Namibia. ‘‘To hear that from one of the elders that he knew my koro and how closely we relate to the haka, it blew me away, it shocked me a bit. It was a very special moment. I felt an instant feeling of welcome and respect from that marae.’’
Taylor’s lack of knowledge about his heritage was a product of circumstance rather than any lack of interest. The family moved to Queensland when Codie was a baby and wouldn’t return to the Kapiti Coast until he was 11.
‘‘My dad’s [Nathan] pretty involved with it [maori culture]. He doesn’t speak Maori, but he grew up going to the marae a lot. As a kid I didn’t get to see all that, but I knew it was part of me,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘I’m proud to be Maori and I suppose the reason I didn’t know that stuff was my koro was adopted by another Maori family. Adding that to not growing up in New Zealand I guess I missed out on some of that.’’
The All Blacks had gone to the marae to pay thanks and respect to Ngati Toa for the continued use of Ka Mate, and it’s not inconceivable that in the future Taylor might lead the pre-match ritual.
‘‘They’ve been giving me bit of stick about leading the haka, but I’ll have to earn my stripes before I can think about doing that,’’ Taylor said.
But the significance of his iwi links has clearly not been lost on his teammates and it was interesting to watch senior maori player Liam Messam push Taylor forward to accept the rautapu during a public powhiri in central London.
Messam, and the rest of the squad have also acknowledged their young rake’s status by giving him a new nickname.
‘‘My koro’s name was Te Mana, but they called him Inky and funnily enough that’s my nickname in the All Blacks now because of that. He was a very dark skinned man, so they called him Inky.’’
Taylor’s family link to the haka isn’t his only historical reference point to the All Blacks either with his great, great grandfather Walter Peter Pringle having represented New Zealand.
But a new nickname and a better sense of his maori identity isn’t the only thing Inky Taylor has gained over the past few months. ‘‘I’ve only been here a while, but I already look back on that time to how I feel now. I’m a totally different person,’’ Taylor said. ‘‘I feel like I can be myself and add something to the legacy of this team.
‘‘There are no egos in the team. That makes it a lot easier to feel comfortable and you always have Steve [Hansen] by your side asking how you are, so there are the right things in place to keep you comfortable.’’
Taylor’s parents Nathan and Christine are heading over to England for the All Blacks third pool match against Georgia and, if he plays, they’ll have a little extra pride if their son performs the haka.