Red-letter day for Kiwi Parkes in Wales debut
Hadleigh Parkes is New Zealand’s latest star rugby export after scoring two tries and earning the man of the match award on debut for Wales.
The former Manawatu, Auckland, Blues and Hurricanes midfielder dotted down twice as Wales saw off South Africa 24-22 in Cardiff yesterday.
Parkes, 30, said his debut was ‘‘a dream come true’’.
‘‘It’s a privilege to have played here in front of 65,000,’’ Parkes told the Daily Telegraph.
‘‘To score two tries on my debut, well you dream of these things happening. It’s an amazing feeling.
‘‘Three years ago, I would not have believed this would happened. You hear about the old Cardiff Arms Park and the singing. I made an effort with the anthem and I hope it went ok.’’
Hunterville-born Parkes — who has only just qualified for his adopted nation after three years at champion Welsh club Scarlets — was rated man of the match by the Wales Online news site.
Parkes, who played at second five-eighth, was the official man of the match and was awarded a 9 rating by Wales Online, which noted: ‘‘In his dreams he could not have wished for a better start to his test career — two tries in 33 minutes, the first via a quite brilliant fingertip pick-up and the second through excellent support play. Made a series of good decisions and provided ballast in midfield. The phrase ‘duck to water’ comes to mind.’’
Parkes also earned a typically Kiwi tribute from coach Warren Gatland.
‘‘He did OK, yeah,’’ Gatland said at the post-match press conference.
‘‘I said to him to make the most of the opportunity, and he did that. He carried well, defended well.
‘‘He’s an experienced player and even though it was his first cap we told him he needed to show some leadership out there and take control. He’s had a lot of rugby and is familiar with the Scarlets players that were out there.
‘‘He’s done great. It was a fantastic pickup for the first try.‘‘
Parkes, who plays alongside British and Irish Lions star centre Jonathan Davies at Scarlets, became the first Welsh player since George North in 2017 to score two tries on debut.
He s familiar with the South African style of play — he had a season with the Southern Kings in 2010.
Parkes is the second Kiwi in recent weeks to make an instant impact for a new, top-tier nation. Former Chiefs midfielder Bundee Aki was hailed as ‘‘super’’ by Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt after his debut in Ireland’s record win over the Springboks.
A third, former Bay of Plenty, Chiefs and Highlanders utility back Phil Burleigh, 31, also made his debut for Scotland off the bench in their rout of the Wallabies last weekend.
Meanwhile, Gatland admitted to feeling ‘‘a bit of relief’’ after his team made hard work of beating South Africa.
Wales led by 18 points just before half-time but needed a Leigh Halfpenny penalty 12 minutes from time to secure a 24-22 victory and third successive home win against the Springboks.
‘‘I suppose there is a bit of relief,’’ Gatland said. ‘‘It was pretty nailbiting, but that is what test match rugby is all about, and we came out on the right side of it.’’