The 30-year-old New Zealand-born centre made sure he made a major impact in his first foray into the Test arena as he took less than eight minutes to notch his first try. He also picked up the Man of the Match award.
If his first try was down to sheer dogged determination as he loyally chased a neat chip by Dan Biggar, his second try was about being in the right place at the right time.
The Scarlets centre tracked a break by Taulupe Faletau and was available on his inside to gather a clever overhead pass and gleefully run round to score at the posts. He must have thought international rugby was pretty simple at that stage!
“It was a dream come true and a pretty amazing day. I never thought this day would come and I’m just extremely humbled by the opportunity,” admitted Parkes, who qualified for Wales after serving a three-year residency period.
“It’s a huge privilege and an honour to come out here and play at a fantastic stadium and in front of a fantastic crowd. You dream of these kind of days and I’m very happy.”
Parkes was included in the Wales squad for the first time for the 2017 Under Armour Series, but had to wait until the final game against the Springboks to complete his residency qualification. Now he can look forward to challenging for a place in his first Six Nations campaign in the New Year.
