Taylor's appearance is his first after suffering a pre-season hamstring injury. He said he hadn't had hamstring issues for many years, but he got a lot of work done during his recovery, especially on his assault bike.
He's looking forward to contributing to an increased workload for the Crusaders' pack.
"Looking back on the Chiefs game, and then further back to last year when we played the Reds, we let ourselves down up front in the collision area."
The Crusaders would need to front up in that area because the Reds have physical players who were good over the ball. And they would have to be accurate with their ball carrying and at the breakdowns.
"New Zealanders want to throw the ball around, but you have to be smart around that. We've let ourselves down at times.
"We've probably forced our hand a little too much and not quite been set to attack."
Taylor said the Reds' loose forwards are performing well this season and, as a unit, are among the best in the competition.
Coach Rob Penney said McLeod would have started in the side's earlier games if he hadn't suffered knocks, and he felt using Levi Aumua from the bench would better suit the side.
"The bench is so important as we've seen in the competition already; the attrition rate, the fatigue because of the way the game is being refereed, makes your bench important."
Taha Kemara has retained his place starting at first five-eighths.
"Taha is performing beautifully for us and we want to keep that momentum going while he's in a good space."
Good weather has helped the running style that has marked the 2025 campaign to date and that has been a challenge for the defence plans of sides, something Penney said the Crusaders were still coming to terms with.
"It's not something we're neglecting, we've put a spotlight on that over the last two weeks."
That was a result of the blowout the Chiefs inflicted on them in the second half of their last game.
"We weren't on song right through that game. We got to 17-all and were fighting hard, and then 32 points in 30 minutes at the backend was atrocious.
"We didn't manage the game well enough. We played too much rugby in our half and defended as individuals. As the pressure went on, we went quiet.
"We'll make some shifts, and you'll see us being better, and we'll grow that."