Simon Parker to make test debut as All Blacks make 5 changes for 2nd Argentina test

By Canadian Press on August 21, 2025.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has made five changes to his squad for the second Rugby Championship test against Argentina on Saturday, handing backrower Simon Parker his test debut.

Parker’s selection is the only change to the New Zealand starting XV. He comes in at No. 8 while Ardie Savea returns to his usual position on the openside flank.

There weree four changes on the bench, where prop Tamaiti Williams and backrower Wallace Sititi will make their returns from injury.

Lock Josh Lord and center Quinn Tupaea have been added to the reserves after injuries in the first test to Patrick Tuipulotu and Anton Lienert-Brown.

Parker’s immediate promotion to the starting lineup is a minor surprise. Robertson was expected to select the more experienced Sititi to start and to introduce Parker from the bench. Williams also was expected to start but Robertson has decided to allow both Sititi and Williams to make more cautious returns from injury.

Robertson also will have been reasonably satisfied with the scrum performance of his starting pack in last weekend’s 41-24 first test win at Cordoba.

While Parker will be playing his first test, hooker Codie Taylor will make his 100th test appearance, becoming the 14th All Blacks player to reach triple figures.

“Codie is a great All Black. He carries a huge amount of mana (status) in our group and it’s important we put out a performance that makes him and his whānau (family) proud in his 100th test,” Robertson said.

“The way he carries himself and the example he sets are testament to him as a person and he will front this week in the same way he has for the past 99 tests.”

Parker has made an impression in Super Rugby this season as a big man who still possesses pace and skill.

He is 1.97 meters (6’4″) tall, weighs 119 kilograms (262 pounds) and the All Blacks selectors see him as a possible answer to the size of the World Cup champion Springboks, their opponents in the next stage of the Rugby Championship.

The Pumas made two starting changes for Saturday’s match — Juan Martin Gonzalez is in for Marcos Kremer on the flank and Mateo Carreras replaced Rodrigo Isgro on the left wing, with Bautista Delguy swapping to the right wing.

Teams:

Argentina: Juan Cruz Mallia, Bautista Delguy, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras, Tomás Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Joaquin Oviedo, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pablo Matera, Pedro Rubiolo, Franco Molina, Pedro Delgado, Julian Montoya (captain), Mayco Vivas. Reserves: Ignacio Ruiz, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Joel Sclavi, Guido Petti, Marcos Kremer, Simon Benitez Cruz, Santiago Carreras, Justo Piccardo.

New Zealand: Will Jordan, Sevu Reece, Billy Proctor, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane, Beauden Barrett, Cortez Ratima; Simon Parker, Ardie Savea, Tupou Vaa’i, Fabian Holland, Scott Barrett (captain), Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Samisoni Taukei’aho, Tamaiti Williams, Pasilio Tosi, Josh Lord, Wallace Sititi, Finlay Christie, Quinn Tupaea,  Damian McKenzie.

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AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby

Steve Mcmorran, The Associated Press