All Blacks relishing Ellis Park bout

All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor has described this weekend's clash against the Springboks at Emirates Airline Park as one of the best fixtures to be part of.

The venue formerly known as Ellis Park holds rich rugby history, particularly between South Africa and New Zealand, with the most significant moment having been the 1995 Rugby World Cup final.

The Kiwis also hold a torrid record on the pitch, having managed just five wins from 14 tests at the Johannesburg arena, which is set to be packed to capacity on Saturday.

"The first 10 minutes will be absolutely heavy, I suppose, because of the altitude and just the arena itself. It's an intense place to play at but it's also the best place to play in the world," Taylor told a media conference.

"You don't get much better, there's some awesome history at Ellis Park and I definitely have fond memories of running around in the black jersey there. That work of getting off the ground is going to pay dividends, I think."

The two giants met at the Mbombela Stadium last week, where the Boks walked away 26-10 victors to pile more pressure on the All Blacks, who have now lost three matches in a row for the first time since 1998, but Taylor insists the team is still on track to where they want to be.

"There's plenty of noise out there, but it's been good. The obvious has happened and this team is making steps each week, and I think there were some great steps made last week, even though the result doesn't show that," he added.

"Where we want to go and where we're trying to be as an All Black team is definitely still in sight and we can't ask for much more from the lads that are given the opportunity every week, and it's not through a lack of trying.

"Now we have a few more opportunities that will come our way, a few more moments - that's what test rugby is about, and hopefully we get the result."

By Web Admin