Stephen Donald: The All Blacks ‘trump card’ that could make the difference as Scott Robertson names ‘biggest pack we’ve ever seen’
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson and former Test fly-half Stephen Donald.
All Blacks Rugby World Cup winner Stephen Donald is excited to see a simply gargantuan New Zealand pack take to the field this weekend.
Head coach Scott Robertson named his side for the second round of the Rugby Championship against Argentina, with Chiefs star Simon Parker set for his debut.
At almost two metres tall and 119kg (18st 7lb), the 25-year-old adds to what is already a hefty forward eight.
The All Blacks have also strengthened the bench with the addition of Tamaiti Williams and Wallace Sititi from injury and Donald believes that the former can make a big impact in the front-row.
All Blacks prop has ‘X-factor’
“Tamaiti Williams is potentially a little bit of our X-factor, he’s a bit of a trump card when it comes to props around the world,” he said on The Aftermatch with Kirst and Beav.
“The story goes that he went down to Canterbury as a number eight and Jase Ryan said: ‘No, no, you’re going to be a prop, son’, and a prop he has turned in to.”
There is no doubt that Robertson has wanted to get bigger bodies into the pack as they look to compete with the powerhouse Springboks.
Parker was perhaps the surprise inclusion but Donald understands the decision and thinks that it is a great story, considering he was not a regular Chiefs starter prior to 2025.
“Wallace has had very little rugby this year so I wonder if he’s just trying to bleed him in that way and know that there is potentially bigger fish to fry,” he said.
“Simon Parker has been a number eight born and bred, he’s been touted for years in the Waikato area that he is a man that is not just Waikato and Chiefs level but they’ve always thought he was going to go to that next level.
“The poor bugger over the last three or four years has been absolutely injury-prone and he hasn’t had a consistent run.
“At the start of the year, he would have been looking at the Chiefs team and going, ‘how the hell do I break into the starting loose forward trio, never mind starting for the All Blacks in Buenos Aires in game two of the Rugby Championship.”
Massive All Blacks pack
Donald ultimately believes that the forward eight Robertson has chosen to face Los Pumas is “bigger” than any of the packs he named against France, which the former fly-half felt were the “biggest” he had seen for New Zealand.
“Earlier on in the year, we said that’s the biggest pack we’ve ever seen wearing black. I tell you what, this is bigger,” he said.
“This is bigger and then couple in the four or five boys on the bench; this is a huge assortment of New Zealand rugby players, there’s no doubt about it.
“You’re talking about some huge, huge individuals here so it’s fascinating, but that’s the route that they’ve gone for Test two in Argentina.”
It is a slight change in style from the first Argentina Test, where Robertson selected two fetchers in the back-row.
The head coach has this time gone for pure power and height with both Parker and Tupou Vaa’i rather hefty units.
“Last week they had Ardie and Du’Plessis Kirifi going hard at the ball at the breakdown. This week, it’s almost like they’ve decided that physical collisions are going to win the ruck speed,” Donald added.
“You can either slow ruck ball down by going hard in what they call the jackal or you can go the route of winning collisions and just physically dominating the collision area, which will always slow their ball speed down.
“It’s a wonderful-looking pack, I love the look of the bench, with Josh Lord there, Wallace Sititi.”