“He’s the big fella’s about to hurt a few people.” James Parsons, watching Fabian Holland before Sydney.
James Parsons knew what was coming from Fabian Holland before a ball was kicked in Sydney.
“I was like, ‘Oh, mate, he’s on here. He’s the big fella’s about to hurt a few people,'” Parsons said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod on Sunday 18 October.
Parsons is a former All Blacks hooker and Blues captain. Holland went on to play the full 80 minutes of the 43-21 win over the Wallabies.
Comments are open: Holland or Josh Lord next to Scott Barrett in a World Cup knockout?
Fabian Holland promised brutality before kick-off
Parsons said Holland is usually chatty before a game. Not on Saturday.
As Parsons remembered it, Holland’s answer in his pre-match interview was short: “No, mate. I’m just going to bring brutality and do my job.”
He had a big engine too, Holland told the same interviewer. “Oh, yes, you do, big fella,” Parsons said, laughing.
Host Ross Karl then owed Holland an apology. The first figures out of Sydney had him missing a string of tackles, and Karl had repeated them on air.
“He did not miss many tackles. He in fact made 33 tackle attempts and made 32 tackles.”
Parsons singled out the heat. “Fabian, man, in that heat, that was a big, big effort,” he said.
What Parsons saw in the contact
Parsons rated Holland on the jobs a lock does when nobody is filming.
“He was brutal in the cleanout and I don’t think he looked to do anything fancy. He got a line out steal.”
He added that Holland’s defensive lineout work will matter in a knockout against a side like South Africa.
Bryn Hall, the former Crusaders and Blues halfback, saw something else. He liked Holland’s hands in the first two tries. A tip ball is a short pass from a forward standing at the line to a runner coming close.
Watch where Holland stands before he tips it on. He stays square to the defence, so the defender in front of him has to stay too. Hall called it a big improvement on what he had seen before.
James Parsons picks his lock by the opponent
Karl then turned to 2027. Scott Barrett starts at lock. Who goes next to him in a World Cup quarter-final?
Hall went first. “If you had had a gun to my head… I would go [Fabian] Holland,” he said, adding he was thinking of South Africa.
Parsons would not give one name for every match.
“I think it’s an opposition’s thing. I think a Josh Lord against an Australia is is probably a better fit.”
Holland, in his view, is for England, South Africa and probably France. Lord suits sides that give up more quick ball.
“A Josh Lord against an Australia or an Ireland um just may give you a little bit more of freedom of play because they allow a lot of a lot more quick ball.”
Parsons likened Holland’s job against the big packs to the one Brodie Retallick used to do. “I do think styles make fights,” he said.
Josh Lord still has a case
Neither of them dismissed Lord. Parsons said he did not want to take away from Lord’s game at Eden Park, where he got his balance right.
Hall called Lord an athlete who roams wide and throws passes most locks would not. That is the case for him against a defence that lets the ball move.
Tupou Vaa’i complicates it again. Hall wants him at blindside, which leaves one lock spot for two men.
England will test the Parsons theory first
Holland was World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2025.
The All Blacks play Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday 7 November, Wales a week later, then England at Twickenham on 21 November.
If Parsons is right, England at Twickenham is a Holland Test.
Stuff has the full Aotearoa Rugby Pod episode on YouTube.
Your turn: Holland or Lord?
Hall would pick Holland for any knockout. Parsons would pick by the opponent: Holland for the big packs, Lord when the game opens up.
One lock for every World Cup match, or a pick for each opponent? Vote below.
Frequently asked
Who is Fabian Holland?
Fabian Holland is an All Blacks lock who plays for the Highlanders. He was World Rugby’s Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2025.
How many tackles did Fabian Holland make against the Wallabies in Sydney?
Ross Karl said on the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that the updated figures show 33 attempts and 32 tackles made. The first figures after the Test had him missing several.
Who is James Parsons?
James Parsons is a former All Blacks hooker and Blues captain. He co-hosts the Aotearoa Rugby Pod with Ross Karl and Bryn Hall.
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