LYON – Years ago Sam Whitelock was dubbed “Gandalf”. Now, the veteran lock is poised to overtake Richie McCaw and become the All Blacks’ most-capped player of all time.
Whitelock, 34, was on Wednesday named on the bench for the All Blacks’ must-win Test against Italy, with Ian Foster making nine changes to his side for Friday’s Pool A match.
When he comes off the bench, he will surpass McCaw by playing his 149th Test – second only to Wales’ Alun Wyn Jones (171).
All the more extraordinary is that the second-rower, who debuted in 2010 against Ireland, has started in 125 Tests.
It speaks to the calibre of the man Nepo Laulala calls Gandalf but recognises as the “godfather” of All Blacks rugby.
“He’s been around for pretty much my whole career. I don’t know how he’s done it so long at this high level, too. It goes to show the person he is and the character of the man,” Laulala told reporters.
“He brings a calmness to the group, which is exactly what you need in these big pressured tournaments.
“Just having his presence around just brings that reassurance, especially to the younger kids and even to the leaders in the team. He’s sort of like the godfather.”
Sam Whitelock will become the All Blacks’ most-capped player of all time on Friday, as he plays his 149th Test (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Whitelock’s calming nature and ability to come up with the big play at the death has been the hallmark of his stellar career, which has culminated in two World Cups and an unbeaten record in trans-Tasman Tests.
Case in point was his stunning trysaving effort on Wallabies halfback Tate McDermott during the second Bledisloe Test in Dunedin in August.
As McDermott scooted off to the tryline, it was Whitelock who managed to somehow deny the livewire halfback from scoring what would have been a crucial blow.
Six weeks earlier, he played through pain to help the Crusaders to another Super Rugby title.
The match was his last for the red and black Crusaders, having been appointed Scott Robertson’s captain in 2017 as the coach moved away from Kieran Read’s leadership.
It’s Whitelock’s consistency that has him rated amongst the greatest-ever players.
Certainly he rivals John Eales, Martin Johnson, Paul O’Connell, Jones, Eben Etzebeth and Brodie Retallick for being the best lock of the 21st century. But given the amount of trophies he has won, it certainly has him towards the top of that list.
Indeed, World Cup-winning All Blacks coaches Steve Hansen, Wayne Smith and Graham Henry included Whitelock in their greatest ever New Zealand team.
Brodie Retallick will start against Italy, with, Sam Whitelock to come off the bench in his record breaking Test. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Ofa Tuungafasi highlighted the “trust” the All Blacks felt when Whitelock was in the group.
“One thing I love about Sammy is he’s got a special ability to connect with anyone – young, obviously old – he gets along with all of us, he’s fun to be around,” Tuungafasi said.
“He always has something to say but he knows when not to say and when not to talk. He’s a great man.
“You kind of trust him out there, no matter what situation, time, place, circumstances, you know he’s going to get his role right, get the job done and he’ll be the first man on the line to go forward. We’re just grateful to have him in our team.”
Since returning from injury ahead of the Bledisloe Tests, Whitelock has largely come off the bench.
Asked whether the importance of Friday’s Test had seen Foster prioritise winning over getting caught in the romance of Whitelock’s record-breaking day, the All Blacks coach said no individual was ever bigger than the team.
“I don’t think it takes the romance out of it (that Whitelock is on the bench),” Foster said.
“This is a credit to Sam, every game he is achieving something new at the moment. He equalled a record last week, he’s going to beat it this week. He’s got 150 (caps) coming up and then he’s got the most capped All Black in World Cups. Every day is a bit of a statement of something he’s achieving.
“We will do all our celebration of that achievement after this game. Right now what the team needs to achieve is bigger than the individual.”
Sam Whitelock and Sam Cane at training on September 18 in Bordeaux. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Foster wouldn’t go as far as saying the current lock standings, with Whitelock’s long-time second-row partner Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett to start, was now the pecking order.
“It’s the order we have for this game. I won’t commit to saying it’s the absolute pecking order. We just feel that right now, it’s the right one for this game.
“We’ve got four locks that we are pretty happy with their form.
“We’ve got Brodie (Retallick) who is coming back from injury, he’s missed a bit of rugby. He played a little bit in that France game and [against] Namibia he got 55 minutes, so we really feel he needs more time.”
After their first-up loss to France in Paris, the All Blacks must beat Italy to ensure they don’t follow the Wallabies by all but certainly drowning in the World Cup pools for the first time.
While the All Blacks are heavy favourites against Italy, Foster said he wasn’t looking past their crunch pool match.
“History means nothing. History is yesterday’s newspaper, isn’t it, not tomorrow’s,” he said.
“Both teams, there’s a lot at stake. This was always going to be a game we knew we had to get really excited about and play well in.
“The good thing is that we are playing a team that is confident, so there is no surprises. They’ve earned that. The last two years, we’ve seen a lot of growth in their game. I made the point after the Six Nations, I thought they were one of the highlights of the Six Nations, the way they played and the competitiveness of all their games.”
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