Sam Whitelock impressed by 'confident' new All Black Josh Lord
Josh Lord isn’t losing any sleep over a potential All Blacks debut this weekend, at least according to his considerably more senior teammate Sam Whitelock.
Lord, at just 21 years of age and with only six Super Rugby caps under his belt, looks odds-on to earn his first test cap when New Zealand takes on the USA on Sunday morning, NZ time.
With only four locks in the squad and Brodie Retallick shouldering a heavy workload to date, Lord is likely to wear the No 19 jersey against the Eagles this weekend, unless the All Blacks opt to give Shannon Frizell a run in the second row.
Only seven months ago, Lord was making his first appearance for the Chiefs – lining up against the experienced Crusaders pairing of Whitelock and fellow All Black Scott Barrett.
It’s been a rapid rise for the youngster, but one that he’s evidently been taking in his stride, if Whitelock’s words are anything go by.
Lord has been rooming with Whitelock and the pair travelled to the United States together last week, alongside fellow squad additions Sam Cane, Dane Coles and Frizell.
The international trip hasn’t fazed Lord, however, with Whitelock suggesting the man 13 years his junior has quickly acclimatised to the US timezone.
“It’s been really good getting to know him but I would say he hasn’t actually missed a beat with the sleep,” Whitelock said on Tuesday. “We landed here, he fell asleep straight away, slept all the way through the night and he’s done the same for the last couple of days so he’s definitely fitting in well.”
Whitelock, who stepped into the All Blacks’ captaincy role in the formative stages of the year with Cane unavailable through injury, also praised Lord’s understated professionalism.
“He’s confident without being too pushy and you can just see him absorbing all the information because there has been quite a lot thrown at him but he’s taken that in his stride and I’m sure he’s just like the rest of us, wanting to plum into some work tomorrow.”
Two All Blacks greats have predicted which players will feature for New Zealand against the USA Eagles this weekend. #AllBlacks #USAvNZL https://t.co/ixoT9bhBTg
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While the rest of the All Blacks have just undertaken an intense five-week campaign in Australia, the five men who have only linked up with the squad recently are relatively fresh and still in the honeymoon stages of the trip.
Whitelock is confident that the energy of the new group will bring out the best in the rest of the squad, with young Lord leading the charge.
“There’s five new guys that have come over that have been away for a certain amount of time… Obviously, Josh has come in, his excitement levels are through the roof. He hasn’t expressed it verbally but you can see it in his body language and a couple of the older boys [have] come back in too so I think it’s great for the group at the moment,” Whitelock said.
“We’ve been here a couple of days so we’re not probably as tired through the jetlag as they are so they’re probably feeding off our energy at the moment but you can tell everyone wants to get out there and play, everyone wants to have that opportunity to play here in the States against USA which is something that doesn’t happen very often and it is a privilege whenever it does happen so everyone is keen to get out there and play their part.”
New Zealand last squared off with the USA in 2014 where they scored a convincing 74-6 victory in Chicago. Sunday’s match in Washington will likely see the All Blacks field a relatively strong side – although the likes of Whitelock, Cane and Coles will all be returning to the fold after a handy break.
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No Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
3 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
3 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
54 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
54 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
3 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
54 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
54 Go to commentsOn the title, i wonder for many of those people it is a case something like a belief in working smarter, not harder?
1 Go to commentsForget Sotutu. One of those whose top level is Super Rugby. Id take a punt on Wallace Sititi Finau ahead of Glass body Blackadder.
54 Go to commentsI’m a pensioner so I've been around a bit. My opinion of SBW is he is an elite athlete and a great New Zealander and roll model. He has been to the top and knows what he's talking about. To all the negative comments regarding SBW the typical New Zealand way, cut that tall poppy down.
18 Go to commentsI'm not listening to a guy moralise over others when this is the guy who walked out mid season on Canterbury RLFC when he had a contract with them, what a hypocrite. All the Kiwis sticking up for this unprincipled individual because they can't accept justified criticism, he has zero credibility or integrity. Those praising him are a joke.
18 Go to commentsI’d put Finau at 6 instead of Blackadder but that’s the only change I’d make. Can’t wait to see who Razor picks.
54 Go to comments