Do not disturb mode was set on Bradley Slater’s phone the night he went to bed before he was rushed to All black people tour of South Africa.
“I woke up on Monday to a couple of missed calls,” Slater said RugbyPass. “Oh, God, something’s going on. I called them back. They answered right away and explained that George Bell was out. I was honestly hurt for him. They said hurry, you’ve got to get to Auckland from New Plymouth to fly to Cape Town via Singapore. It was a bit of a crazy hit. I arrived on Wednesday. The first game was against Stormers on Friday.
“I made my debut against the Sharks, I came on in the last 20 minutes. The lads really dominated them so all I had to do was do my job.
“The most memorable thing in that game was Ma’a Nonu’s haka. I got chills. None of us knew what was going to happen. We thought he might do the haka at the same time as us. When he answered I was like, wow. This is serious.”
His only other appearance on the tour was in a 41-35 come-from-behind win over Lions in Johannesburg. Slater said his focus coming into the field is still to do his part, but when he’s behind, he stressed you want to add an extra impact without forcing things. Of course, he was devastated that the All Blacks lost the Test series 3-1.
“One thing I’ve learned South Africa how much they love their rugby. The Springboks are rallying the country. They are everywhere on shirts, posters and the radio. You can’t avoid them,” Slater said.
“The atmosphere on game days is great. They are a big, experienced unit, and they have a clear game plan. I don’t think I would change much in the way we prepared. We had the game plan and the players. They just did better than us. It was the players and the game plan.”
“It was a proud moment to be selected for the All Blacks, although I didn’t tell anyone until I was in South Africa. Where do I fit in? We’ve got good depth at the moment, big athletes like George Bell, Asafo Aumua and Samisoni Taukei’aho. I’m not as good as them but I bring a lot of work ability and I can do my job, anticipation
A product of New Plymouth Boys’ High School, where he was head boy in 2016 and a first XI cricketer and first XV rugby player, Slater has been serious about football all his life.
His father is a former Taranaki lock Andy Slater, who played 183 games for the Amber and Black between 1989 and 2001. His uncle Gordon Slater played 174 games from 1991 to 2005, captain Hurricanes in Super Rugby, for which he played 56 games, in 2001 and 2002. Gordon is All Black #980. He played three Tests on the Northern Tour in 2000, beating Italy (56-19) and sharing the series with France. The All Blacks won the first test 39-26 in Paris, with Andrew Mertens kicking a record 9 penalties. in Marseille, France won a dramatic 42-33 victory with the brilliant Christophe Lamaison scoring 27 points.
Slater was a model of consistency. In Super Rugby Pacific, he played 68 games for the Chiefs, helping them to 40 wins and four finals appearances in seven seasons. Slater only played in the 2024 decider, which they lost to his 2026 team, the Blues. He played 11 games for the national team Blues and scored four tries this year. Their combative, forward-thinking approach under “Stern” Vern Cotter suits a no-nonsense whore.
Slater made his debut for Taranaki in 2017 and played 76 games with 45 wins. That includes championship success in 2021, a premiership triumph in 2023 and two successful Ranfurly Shield challenges against Canterbury (23-22) in 2020 and Tasman (42-29) in 2024. Slater has scored 21 tries for Taranaki, including four in the last three games against South, one in 5-1, 1-9 in 9-2. thrashing Hawke’s Bay and another in a 68-26 slaughter Wellington on Sunday.
In 2024, Slater kicked two goals in a 63-19 thrashing of the Magpies in Napier.
“I was super proud of the boys’ effort against Hawke’s Bay. We got into a position in the table where we have to win and win just to get into the quarter-finals. It was a really important game for us; we trained well for it. It was one of those rare occasions when everything went smoothly,” Slater said.
“The NPC is great for rugby in New Zealand. The smaller provinces competing against the bigger city teams makes for a more exciting competition. What did the counties do in winning the Ranfurly Shield against Northland was special. The tight competition makes it exciting for the fans. Last weekend there were all eight of the best scenarios.”
Taranaki’s script was simple: they won, and they did, beating winless Wellington 68-26 in New Plymouth. Slater, who scored a try in Taranaki’s 39-20 win against Wellington in 2025, was taking nothing for granted.
“You never know what can happen. It’s all about who’s the best team on the day,” Slater said. “Many times the Wellington teams covered me. Their attitude was that they had nothing to lose. They have some dangerous players with that approach. They battled hard in patches but it was a special day for us with two Barretts playing and Jared Proffit’s 100.”
Interestingly, All Blacks Beauden and Scott Barrett played their first game together for Taranaki. Scott’s last appearance came in a 24-10 win against Southland in 2021. Beauden last played in a successful 23-22 Ranfurly Shield challenge against Canterbury in 2020
Two reunions were celebrated at the weekend: the 1976 Taranaki team that went 12-0 and the 1996 Ranfurly Shield-winning team that upset Auckland 42-39 at Eden Park. Second-five Dean Magon scored a memorable hat-trick. Bradley’s dad, Andy, played number 8.
Yarrows Stadium was also renamed after Maori all black prop Jared Proffit, celebrating his 100th game for Taranaki, the first centurion since fellow prop Tony Penn in 2008. Proffit made his Taranaki debut in 2015 and enjoyed 55 wins.
“Playing 100 NPC games is a rare feat, but it’s no surprise to Jared,” said Slater. “He’s one of those guys that you trust implicitly. He’s tough when he’s fighting, he demands high standards and he leads through his actions. He’s the backbone.”
Wellington and Taranaki play for the John F. Henning Trophy donated by the then US ambassador in 1969. In all, the pair have clashed 178 times in first-class matches since 1894, with Wellington winning 124 to Taranaki’s 49, plus five draws and one forfeit. In the NPC, Wellington leads 31-8.
Taranaki finished the regular season in fifth place and travel to Albany for their sudden death semi-final against North Harbour this saturday.
