The promising young hooker took off from a Josh Dickson offload, put in the perfect little grubber and bolted after it, beating the two Crusaders backs to dot down and score the match-winning try tonight.
As incoming Highlanders bombarded their saviour, the 4000-strong crowd at the Farmlands Cup in Weston, near Oamaru, went wild and kept the noise going as Sam Gilbert converted to win the game 35-33.
It was the dream debut for Taylor, who scored two tries earlier in the game.
He was part of a much better second-half pre-season performance from the Highlanders after trailing 26-7 at the break.
Both teams opted to name different sides for each half, with the Crusaders arguably sporting a better line-up in the first, including All Blacks Jack Goodhue and Joe Moody in the mix.
The Highlanders held most of the ball in the first 10 minutes but then the Crusaders clicked into gear and snaffled it for the rest of the half.
Crusaders winger Pepesana Patafilo opened proceedings and the visitors led 5-0.
The back line showed its class five minutes later, when Goodhue sliced through the the Highlanders' defence off a nice ball, scoring under the posts to push them out to a 12-0 lead.
The visitors again looked slick from the kickoff, but fullback Finn Hurley pounced over the ball at the breakdown to win a turnover on debut.
Moments later, Jona Nareki was back to his electrifying best, with silky smooth footwork darting one way and then the other, and Scott Gregory ran on to a lovely ball to score the home team’s first points of the day.
Cam Millar converted to trail 12-7.
Max Hicks put in a big shift at flanker and had some good carries, while halfback James Arscott came on mid-way through the half and made a real impact.
It was a messy and error-ridden first half - as all pre-season games tend to be - but the Crusaders were still a cut above.
Former Highlander Christian Lio-Willie scored, making a statement in the process, and a Corey Kellow try and the accurate boot of Fergus Burke gave the Crusaders a 26-7 lead at halftime.
The Highlanders came out of the sheds rejuvenated and, with fresh legs on the field, looked to bring the game back.
Locks Josh Dickson and Pari Pari Parkinson were huge at set-piece, Sam Gilbert was accurate at fullback, and Jonah Lowe looked like he could be dangerous on the wing.
The Highlanders had opportunities to score early but they went begging after an obstruction call and a forward pass.
The chance finally came in the 56th minute when the backline recycled the ball quickly and Mitch Hunt put Lowe into space to score in the corner.
Taylor scored his first 10 minutes later before the Highlanders hit back when Ioan Moananu made a blistering run off-loading to Louie Chapman to score.
It was converted and gave the Crusaders a handy buffer, leading 33-21.
Enter Taylor. He hit back in the 71st minute with a good team try before flying away with his match-winner in the 79th minute.
