Slow and steady wins the race for All Blacks and Chiefs hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho in 2024

Wednesday, 29 May 2024

The Hurricanes have kept the heat on the Blues at the top of the Super Rugby Pacific table with a narrow win over the Chiefs in Hamilton.

The words ‘slow and steady’ hardly go hand-in-hand with Samisoni Taukeiaho’s typical approach to the game of rugby.

In fact, ‘bull at a gate’ is something far more akin to describing the destructive hooker’s usual methods.

But, this season, the All Blacks and Chiefs hooker is a new man. Married in December, that has also coincided with a new, broader outlook to the 26-year-old’s rugby.

The man who had cemented himself as one of the country’s top two hookers the past three years and duly notched 30 test caps, and who last year re-signed with New Zealand Rugby all the way through to 2027, has been, in a similar way to the Chiefs themselves, chugging away in Super Rugby Pacific this year without exactly setting the world alight.

But, on the back of a fantastic return from non-playing-sabbatical for veteran Codie Taylor with the Crusaders the past three rounds, and in a week where Asafo Aumua is set to return from injury for a Hurricanes side he had been sensational for, Taukeiaho can feel it’s time to start turning up the heat.

Indeed, there were definite signs of life in last Friday’s narrow defeat to the Hurricanes in the penultimate round of the regular season, racking up a few more running metres, even beating more defenders (four) than anyone else on the night.

Samisoni Taukei’aho goes on the charge during the Chiefs’ loss to the Hurricanes in Hamilton last Friday night.

And, it turns out, this more-gradual-type approach is all part of a grand new plan for the 1.83m, 115kg powerhouse, who revealed he has been deliberately reining things in a touch this year to try and peak at the right time.

“I think, for me, it was looking at the bigger picture of the whole year,” Taukei’aho explained to the Waikato Times.

“The last few years for me has been about coming out guns blazing in the first few rounds, and sometimes I just can’t manage to hold on for the whole year.

“So I’m trying [something] a bit different, try build into the season, and this time of the year is when you really want to be playing your best footy… I aspire to play my best when it really matters, when there’s a bit more on the line.”

While All Blacks already have a generalised rule of having two games off during the season, Taukei’aho had also started the Super campaign by playing from the bench the first two rounds. It’s been a calculated build-up.

All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan shares a laugh with Samisoni Taukei’aho during a World Cup training session last year.

“You don’t really want to play bad footy, you just want to play at a standard,” he admitted.

“Now it’s about putting the foot on the throat, and keep going, see how far I can go. And I’m pretty excited about it, to be honest.

“My body, I’ve been talking to our trainers, it’s probably the best it’s ever felt at this time of the season, for the last three seasons. So I’ve been able to look after my body a bit more, it allows me to push a bit harder and try get better at the business-end.”

Taukei’aho admitted seeing what Taylor, his 85-test national team-mate, and Aumua, who has six tests to his name and is in line for a recall, were doing also “inspires you to lift your game a bit”, all the while being kept grounded by a couple of people in particular.

One is wife, Caitlin, who, fresh off World Cup heartache, he married at Lake Tarawera late last year, the pair having been together since near the start of Taukei’aho’s time at the Chiefs in 2017. Not that rugby was common ground.

Dane Coles continues to be a great sounding board for Samisoni Taukei’aho.

“Her family wasn’t really into it [rugby], which was quite refreshing for me, because you don’t really talk about rugby too much when you’re with them, and I think that’s helped me quite a bit,” he said.

“I can’t thank her enough, and she’s probably the rock of the whole operation, and lets me express myself on the rugby field and does the hard yards at home.

“And she’s really good at putting me in my place, I can’t get too far ahead of myself.”

The other great sounding board is “Grandad”, also known as former All Blacks hooker Dane Coles, the man Taukei’aho idolised when he was coming through the ranks, then of course played with at the top level.

“He’ll always be there for me, he told me that,” Taukei’aho said of the 90-test rake who is now in retirement after a stint in Japan, and who has still been in constant communication.

“He’s left the All Blacks and New Zealand rugby, but he’s always a phone call or a message away for me. So I can’t thank him enough.

“Grandad always made sure I don’t get too far ahead of myself.

“I think the best advice [from him] is just ‘enjoying it’. Sometimes you can get caught up in chasing too many little goals, but you’ve forgotten the reason why you actually really play footy.”