All Blacks look to 'heavy shoulders' with forward pack changes for Boks

The All Blacks have made a couple of significant changes to their starting XV for Saturday’s heavyweight hitout against the Springboks at Eden Park.

After spending time on the blindside flank over the opening two months of the team’s season, Tupou Vaa’i has shifted back to lock, making way for Buenos Aires debutant Simon Parker in the No. 6 jersey.

Vaa’i’s move means Fabian Holland has been moved from the starting team to the bench, while Wallace Sititi gets his first start of the season, filling the No. 8 jersey Parker wore against Los Pumas. Scott Barrett and Ardie Savea keep their No.4 and No.5 jerseys, respectively.

The changes come after a performance against Los Pumas in which Vaa’i had some costly errors. In the 58th minute, Vaa’i was beaten to the punch off the side of the scrum by Pablo Matera, who targeted the inexperienced blindside and made it just centimetres out from the All Blacks’ tryline. Gonzalo Garcia was then able to dive over the line, untouched, and extend the Pumas’ lead to 26-13.

All Blacks defence coach Tamati Ellison had analysed the play in detail.

“Tupou is one of the fastest lateral players off the scrum; he just got tied in a wee bit on that one more than he usually does. First things first, we’ve just got to nail that first-up tackle, and his secondary job is to get on the ball and steal it, which he does really well,” the former All Black told RugbyPass at the team’s hotel.

With the team seeking “technically sound” players to win collisions against a formidable Springboks pack, selectors backed Simon Parker as the best blindside flanker for the fixture.

Ellison explained what impressed him about Parker’s debut: “The effort areas, he was pretty close to topping the tackle count (in Buenos Aires). He enjoys the contact; he’s heavy, has heavy shoulders. It’s his second Test, he’s going to be on the front of his feet this week.”

Head coach Scott Robertson expanded on the selection calls with his views, including the team’s plan for Parker.

“We knew he was going to be six for us at some stage this year, and with his fitness, the last Test, it’s allowed us to put Tupou back to lock; he played extremely well last year against South Africa in that position, and he was excited to put his head between two props,” Robertson explained.

Impressive rookie Fabian Holland’s shift to the bench comes after five straight starts to begin his All Blacks career, starts that have generated Breakthrough Player of the Year buzz for the Highlanders giant.

Robertson said the bench unit needs to enter the game with a mindset of flexibility, bringing whatever the team needs in the moment.

“He’ll finish strong, he’s got enough Test matches under his belt. We wanted to have Tupou in the scrum; he’s a very good scrummager, he’s one of our best. When he comes on, Fabian, he can use that size.”