Bradley Slater: NPC champion, a Ranfurly Shield like his father, then an emergency All Blacks call-up

In October 2023 Bradley Slater started at hooker in the final that made Taranaki national champions. A year later he packed down in the side that took the Ranfurly Shield in Nelson, 28 years after his father Andy had captained Taranaki to the same trophy. Then, in August 2026, a run of missed calls on his phone turned out to be the All Blacks, asking him to get on a plane to Cape Town. The 28-year-old from New Plymouth has played 68 games for the Chiefs, 11 for the Blues and more than 75 for Taranaki, and he is one of three hookers in the Blues squad for 2027.

Where he comes from

Slater was born in New Plymouth on 23 September 1998 into a Taranaki rugby family. His father, Andy Slater, played more than 180 games for the province between 1989 and 2001, mostly at lock and in the back row. Andy captained the Taranaki side that won the Ranfurly Shield from Auckland in 1996, was named NPC first division player of the year in 2000 and played one game for the Hurricanes in 2001, according to his Wikipedia entry. When Bradley was called into the All Blacks squad in 2026, allblacks.com described his father as "a Taranaki rugby legend".

New Plymouth Boys' High School

Like his father, Slater went to New Plymouth Boys' High School. He played in the First XV and the First XI cricket team, allblacks.com records, and RugbyPass reports that he was head boy in 2016.

He was already scoring tries for the school in 2015. On 29 August 2015 New Plymouth met Rotorua Boys' High School in the Chiefs region final in Rotorua with a place at the National Top 4 on the line, and Slater scored one of New Plymouth's two tries in a 27-12 loss, the Rotorua Daily Post reported.

In 2016 New Plymouth upset Hamilton Boys' High School in the Super 8 and then took Tauranga Boys' College to the wire in Tauranga on 18 June 2016, losing 28-24 after trailing 28-5 at half-time. Slater scored one of New Plymouth's four tries, and so did Kaylum Boshier, his team-mate then and his Taranaki captain a decade later. The Tauranga side that day included Leroy Carter and Cole Forbes.

That September he was named in the New Zealand Schools development camp as a hooker, and on 28 September 2016 he was selected in the New Zealand Schools team for the series in Auckland. His fellow forwards included Xavier Numia, Hoskins Sotutu and Brayden Iose, and the backs included Caleb Clarke, Billy Proctor and Harry Plummer.

Taranaki and the Under 20s

Slater made his debut for Taranaki in 2017, RugbyPass reports, the year he turned 19. He was still being used in the back row: when RugbyPass previewed New Zealand's campaign at the 2018 Oceania Under 20 Championship in April 2018, it described him as a Taranaki loose forward and reported that a back injury had ruled him out of the tournament. When the Under 20 squad for the World Championship in France was named on 9 May 2018, Slater was again listed among the players not considered because of injury. The Blues and Wikipedia place him in the Under 20 squad in 2019, but RUGBE could not find him in either of that year's published squads, for the Oceania Championship or the World Championship in Argentina.

By 2019 he was playing hooker, and his Taranaki career has run alongside his Super Rugby one ever since. He scored twice against Manawatū in Feilding on 8 November 2020 in a 35-19 win and twice more in a 33-19 win over Hawke's Bay at Pukekura Park in New Plymouth on 7 August 2021.

The Chiefs

Slater was named in the Chiefs squad for the third week of the 2019 season and made his Super Rugby debut on 2 March 2019 against the Sunwolves at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton, replacing Samisoni Taukei'aho in the 69th minute. The Sunwolves won 30-15, their first win away from home in Super Rugby.

In Super Rugby Aotearoa he scored twice in the space of 21 minutes against the Highlanders in Hamilton on 19 July 2020, though the Highlanders won 33-31. Newstalk ZB described him in 2024 as a core part of the team since that first game, and when he started against the Brumbies at Super Round in Melbourne on 3 March 2024 it was his 50th game for the club. "The club has offered me a lot and I am very grateful," he said that week. The Chiefs won 46-12.

He scored against the Highlanders in a 28-21 win in Hamilton on 23 March 2024 and against the Western Force in a 56-7 win on 4 May 2024, and scored the Chiefs' first try in a 50-35 win over Moana Pasifika in Pukekohe on 21 March 2025. His last game for the Chiefs was on 30 May 2025. The Blues count 68 Chiefs games; Wikipedia's list of Chiefs players credits him with 67 games and seven tries.

Champions and Shield holders

Slater's Taranaki years have brought two Ranfurly Shield wins and a national title. On 19 September 2020 Taranaki won the Ranfurly Shield from Canterbury 23-22 in Christchurch, and in 2021 they won the Championship division, beating Otago 32-19 in the final in Inglewood on 20 November 2021. RugbyPass counts both among the honours of Slater's Taranaki career.

In 2023 Taranaki went all the way in the top division. Slater scored in a 36-17 win over Otago in Dunedin on 16 September 2023 and in a 54-21 win over North Harbour in New Plymouth on 30 September 2023, and on 21 October 2023 he started at hooker in the final against Hawke's Bay in New Plymouth. Taranaki scored two tries in the first 11 minutes and held on to win 22-19, with Boshier as captain, and take the NPC title.

In 2024 Taranaki took the Shield again, 28 years after Andy Slater's team had won it. Bradley scored twice in a 63-19 win over Hawke's Bay in Napier on 20 September 2024, and on 6 October 2024 he started at hooker as Taranaki beat Tasman 42-29 at Trafalgar Park in Nelson to take the Ranfurly Shield, the province's eighth reign. Six days later he scored in the quarter-final against Waikato in New Plymouth, which Taranaki lost 15-14.

In 2025 he scored a hat-trick in a 46-24 win over North Harbour in Albany on 9 August 2025 and finished the season with six tries from ten games. For 2026 Taranaki named him vice-captain, alongside Logan Crowley, under Boshier.

The All Blacks XV

Slater was picked for the All Blacks XV's northern tour in 2024. He came off the bench in the 58th minute of a 38-24 win over Munster at Thomond Park in Limerick on 2 November 2024, and against Georgia at GGL Stadium in Montpellier on 10 November 2024 he came on in the 61st minute and scored six minutes later from a rolling maul. The allblacks.com report said his try "finally extinguished the brave challenge from the Georgians" in a 31-13 win.

He was named again for the 2025 tour. He came on in the 60th minute of the 33-19 win over the Barbarians in Brentford on 1 November 2025, when the All Blacks XV recovered from 19-0 down, and started at hooker in the 45-21 win over Uruguay in Béziers on 16 November 2025, the last match of an unbeaten tour.

The Blues

On 16 July 2025 the Blues announced they had signed Slater through to the end of the 2027 season. General manager of rugby Murray Williams called him "tough, smart and a great set-piece technician" and praised his leadership. "It's a fresh start, and I'm keen to get stuck in," Slater said. He is Blues player number 358.

His Blues debut came in the opening match of 2026, against his old club, the Chiefs, at Eden Park on 14 February 2026. He started at hooker between Josh Fusitu'a and Ofa Tu'ungafasi, and the Chiefs won 19-15. He scored twice in a 40-15 win over the Fijian Drua at Eden Park on 28 March 2026, once more in a 47-40 win over the Highlanders at Eden Park on 17 April 2026, and again in the 36-33 extra-time win over the Reds at One NZ Stadium in Christchurch on 25 April 2026. He played 11 games and scored four tries as the Blues finished fourth and reached the semi-finals. The Blues' profile describes him as a reliable lineout thrower and a strong scrummager.

The call from South Africa

In late July 2026 George Bell was named as the fourth hooker in Dave Rennie's 44-man squad for the All Blacks' tour of South Africa. On 2 August 2026 Bell strained a calf at training in Cape Town, and New Zealand Rugby announced that Slater had been called in to replace him. "We are all gutted for George," Rennie said.

Slater flew from Auckland via Singapore and arrived on the Wednesday, two days before the opening tour match against the Stormers. His first appearance in the black jersey came against the Sharks in Durban on 11 August 2026, when he came off the bench in the 54th minute of a 54-0 win. He played again against the Lions in Johannesburg on 25 August 2026, coming on in the 62nd minute alongside fellow replacements Xavier Numia and Saula Ma'u as the All Blacks came back from 35-17 down to win 41-35. He did not play in any of the four Tests, and he was back in a Taranaki jersey by September.

A hat-trick in the quarter-final

He came home scoring. Slater scored in a 55-19 win over Southland in New Plymouth on 20 September 2026, twice in a 50-14 win over Hawke's Bay in Napier on 27 September 2026 and once in a 68-26 win over Wellington in New Plymouth on 4 October 2026, the result that put Taranaki into the quarter-finals.

On 10 October 2026 Taranaki travelled to North Harbour Stadium in Albany. Harbour led 17-14 at half-time; Taranaki scored six second-half tries to win 50-31. Slater scored three times, in the 36th, 51st and 57th minutes, the hat-trick completed inside 21 minutes. Taranaki's season ended in the semi-final, a 38-28 loss to Canterbury in Christchurch on 18 October 2026. Slater's seven tries in six games left him joint fourth on the competition's try-scoring list, level with Canterbury hooker George Bell among others.

Before that quarter-final RugbyPass counted 76 games, 45 wins and 21 tries for Taranaki. The hat-trick took him to 24 tries.

Style and standing

The words used about Slater tend to be about work and the set piece. Murray Williams highlighted his set-piece skill and leadership when the Blues signed him, the Blues' profile points to his lineout throwing and scrummaging, and allblacks.com called him "skilful" when he was summoned to South Africa. Taranaki made him a vice-captain for the NPC's 50th season.

Where he is now

Slater has not played a Test for any country. He was not among the three hookers in the All Blacks squad named on 26 October 2026 for the November tour of Scotland, Wales and England. On 28 October 2026 the Blues named him in their 2027 squad, one of three hookers with James Mullan and Eli Oudenryn, under new head coach Jason Holland. He is contracted to the Blues to the end of the 2027 season, and the squad assembles at Blues headquarters in late November 2026.

Career at a glance

Taranaki figures to the 2026 quarter-final are RugbyPass's (76 games before that match) plus his three tries in it. Chiefs tries are from Wikipedia's list of Chiefs players. Blues figures agree across the Blues, Wikipedia and RugbyPass.