Duncan Taylor (rugby union)
Scotland international rugby union player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Duncan Taylor (born 5 September 1989) is a Scottish retired professional rugby union player. His regular playing position was centre. He played for Saracens in Premiership Rugby[1] between 2012 and 2023, during this period the club won several Premiership's and three European Cups.
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5 September 1989
Taylor in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Duncan McWilliam Taylor 5 September 1989 Northampton, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (15 st 10 lb; 220 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life and education
Taylor travelled extensively during his childhood and lived in England, Scotland and Australia. He qualifies for Scotland through his Scottish parents.[2]
Taylor was educated at Davidson Mains Primary School in Edinburgh, Olney Middle School (playing rugby for Olney RFC), Davidson School in Sydney, Australia (playing for Garigal RFC), a return to Olney Middle School, then Ousedale School in Newport Pagnell.[3]
Rugby playing career
Taylor did not play for a county or country junior sides.
Club level
Taylor signed for Bedford Blues aged 17. He then joined Saracens on a dual-registration deal in the summer of 2011.[4]
Mark McCall has described Taylor as an underappreciated player,[5] and as a very popular player in the Saracens squad, and he has been described as a 'player's player.'[6][7] During his time at Saracens he has won three Premiership finals in 2015, 2016 and 2023, scoring a try in the 2016 final.[8][9][10] He also helped Saracens win the European Champions Cup in 2016 and 2017.[11][12] On 9 May 2023, it was announced Taylor would be leaving Saracens.[13]
International level
Taylor first earned international honours representing Scotland A during their 2013 campaign. He scored a famous try in their first ever victory away to England Saxons at the sixth time of trying.[2]
His impressive performances during the 2012–2013 season were rewarded when he was called up the senior Scotland squad for their Summer tour to South Africa.[14] He made his full debut against Samoa later that year.[4]
Playing for a club with a heavy fixture load has on occasion not helped Taylor's international career, at a time when Scotland had many player options at centre.[15]
Injuries
Taylor tore his hamstring during Scotland's 2016 summer tour of Japan. He then had 2 ankle-related operations, shoulder problems, and concussions.[16][17][18] He suffered a head injury in 1/18 and ligament injuries in 9/18. [19][6]
