Simon Parker admits Springboks were simply better after All Blacks series levelled in Cape Town

Simon Parker refused to look for excuses after the Springboks levelled the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, admitting South Africa were simply the better side on the night.

Rassie Erasmus’ team opened the scoring inside two minutes and never relinquished control, stifling the All Blacks throughout. Late tries from Leroy Carter and Will Jordan gave the scoreline a more competitive look, but the comeback arrived too late to change the outcome.

Parker, who earned his first Test start under head coach Dave Rennie in the match — having come off the bench in the All Blacks’ 17-point win at Ellis Park the previous weekend — was selected ahead of Peter Lakai, Wallace Sititi, Ethan Blackadder and Patrick Tuipulotu for the starting berth at No.6.

“I think that’s just Test footy, isn’t it?” the 26-year-old Chiefs loose-forward said. “Those one-percenters you don’t get right, they’re able to capitalise on and probably convert more into points than they did last week. They got off to a fast start.”

Parker acknowledged the Springboks’ fast start was no surprise, but felt the All Blacks matched South Africa physically before the breakdown proved decisive. “I thought we showed up well tonight. We matched them physically, but they were able to put us under pressure at the breakdown and convert that into points, and that was the difference in the end.”

Despite the defeat, Parker was direct about accepting responsibility. “There’s no excuse for how we were tonight. They were just the better team on the day,” he said, before pointing to the series decider as immediate motivation. “There’s no bigger motivator than losing. The good thing is we got another weekend, another game to prepare for, and that’ll be where our focus goes.”

The Chiefs forward did identify one positive from the performance — the impact of the All Blacks’ bench unit late in the game. “The ability of our bench to come on and make a difference — any of those guys could be starting each week. You saw that at the end there,” he said.

With the series now level at one game apiece, both teams will head into the deciding third Test with the pressure of the rivalry fully restored.