The fact that Parker, all 1.97m and 119kg of him, is coming into a squad that features his Chiefs teammates Tupou Vaa’i (1.98m/118kg) and Samipeni Finau (1.94m/115kg), who shared the No 6 duties in the recent series against France, suggest Robertson is starting to see size as everything.
In Savea and Sititi, he has two allrounders – freakish athletes with the power and pace to play across the back row.
In Peter Lakai and Du’Plessis Kirifi, he has two out-and-out ball-winning sevens, who can carry with more punch than their size suggests.
But he doesn’t yet have that Pieter-Steph du Toit figure sorted yet – that Tadhg Beirne-type athlete with that rare mix of size, speed and agility.
That’s the All Blacks’ missing piece – and it is a piece that Robertson clearly feels he needs if his side are going to pull off their ambitious mix of ultra-fast, high-skilled rugby in a world of endless, cataclysmic collisions.
International coaches may be the masters at interpreting information in ways that best suit them, but they all accept that they can’t deny the laws of physics, which state that mass and acceleration have an undeniable relationship with force.
No one in rugby circles goes around their daily business citing Newton’s Second Law of Motion, but everyone knows and understands that big men who can generate the same acceleration and top speeds as smaller men are infinitely more valuable.
South Africa have their all-court bruiser. Ireland have theirs. England have Maro Itoje and France seem to have a whole collection, so no wonder Razor wants one.
New Zealand have arguably been left behind in this arms race and it’s possible to pinpoint several tests in the last few years in which the All Blacks were hurt by their lack of size and power at No 6.
Last year’s two-test series against the Springboks was maybe when the power deficit was most keenly felt.
Both tests were a titanic struggle for 65 minutes, and then inexorably the South Africans used their phalanx of heavyweights – the likes of du Toit, Elrigh Louw, Jasper Wiese, R.G. Snyman and Eben Etzebeth – to keep wave after wave of big men coming at the All Blacks until they just couldn’t resist.
And no wonder, then, that Robertson is prepared to carry three big athletes capable of playing No 6 in his Rugby Championship squad.
He’s going all-in on this project because he doesn’t just want one big-bodied option at No 6 – he wants two.
This is the age of South Africa stacking the bench with seven forwards and just one backs reserve (and now France do it regularly, too).
It’s a strategy that has turned rugby into a more overt contest of power, and the All Blacks need to be better equipped to resist the relentless physical onslaughts that come as a matter of course now.
Robertson’s desire to build his power athlete portfolio is not just about having a No 6 who can make inroads as a ball carrier, or pull off dominant tackles, it is also about having someone who can generate a grind factor.
Big bodies hitting rucks hard takes a toll on opponents – both physically, but also mentally; it starts to feel overwhelming when every collision feels like it’s a whole event.
He probably wants three big blindsides, given the likely attrition rates, but Robertson will have it in mind that his squad must shrink from 36 members as it is now (excluding injury cover) to 33 for the World Cup and that probably only five or possibly six loose forwards will make it to Australia in 2027.
Parker has to be a good bet to make that final cut, as he came of age for the Chiefs this season and looks to be an athlete not just with the requisite size and power base to stand up to the South Africans, but someone with the necessary mental resilience to stay in what is certain to be a dogged and interminable fight.
During Super Rugby Pacific, he clanked around in the battle zones as heavy artillery should, but he also seemed entirely capable of supporting the Chiefs’ high-octane attack that saw them produce stunning, sweeping length-of-the-field movements.
It’s a big step up to being able to be here, there and everywhere in test rugby while also setting South Africans on their considerable behinds, but it is probable that Robertson will persevere with Vaa’i as his first option at blindside, while gradually building Parker’s exposure over the season.
Gregor Paul is one of New Zealand’s most respected rugby writers and columnists. He has won multiple awards for journalism and written several books about sport.
