Sam Whitelock can't be captain of the All Blacks if he isn't in the team
With the announcement of Sam Cane as the next All Black captain, the sun is slowly setting on Sam Whitelock’s international career.
Many tipped Whitelock to succeed Read, and with 117 tests under his belt, it was a short-odds pick.
But, by going with the younger Sam Cane, the All Blacks have opted for a long-term option. Whitelock will be 34 years old in 2023, the year France hosts the next World Cup.
He has been mostly ‘untouchable’ during Hansen’s reign as coach, part of the leadership group, and a vice-captain.
However, Whitelock’s on-field form at the highest level in the last two seasons hasn’t been at the same level shown earlier in his career.
Whilst this isn’t a death knell, reputation can only warrant selection for so long.
In the 2018 loss to Ireland in Dublin, Whitelock’s energy, among a few others in black, was noticeably absent as he operated on tired legs to push through the final intense game of the season. Another forward who looked out of gas that night, Karl Tu’inukuafe, hasn’t played since the final test of that season.
The 2019 semi-final loss to England highlighted the shortcomings of the elder All Black statesmen.
The pack were dominated up front, losing lineout ball, maul turnovers, and run ragged by a more youthful English cohort.
Scott Barrett became the scapegoat of a ‘stacked’ lineout that failed to generate any returns and was subbed at halftime.
The tape, though, shows many guilty culprits at lineout time. Whitelock was one of them, failing to read and react quickly enough to perform lifts to compete with England’s jumpers.
While England ran many slips and ‘jump fakes’ often bluffing twice before hitting the third option, there were other simpler lineout calls that just simply beat the All Blacks to the punch.
Whitelock’s own first two targets on the All Blacks’ own ball resulted in turnovers, a sacked maul and a stolen throw to Itoje.
There were communication issues between all key men in the All Black lineout as they struggled to figure out what England were throwing at them. It was a forgettable performance that everyone will be keen to put behind them.
On the face of it, Scott Barrett’s inclusion in the starting line-up forced Sam Cane to the bench. But in reality, Barrett is an athletic lock first and a loose forward second.
The trade-off was really Whitelock for Cane, as Barrett could have filled a starting lock role to give the All Blacks more athleticism around the park.
In the back row, both Ardie Savea and Cane could have played near 80 minutes with Matt Todd available as a replacement.
Hansen didn’t portion blame on Barrett in the post-match press conference but didn’t completely absolve him either.
“Scott came out and played as well as he could. Did we want to win some more lineout ball? Yes, we did. But we didn’t. It takes more than one person to do that,” he said.
It was Barrett that chased down wing Jonny May, one of the fastest players in the England team who runs 100m at 10.7s, to save seven points.
It was Barrett that sparked a Brodie Retallick line break with a pick-and-go and offload around the ruck deep inside the All Blacks’ own territory.
Barrett was a net-positive over 40 minutes while Whitelock was a net-negative over 80, including giving away key penalties for hitting Owen Farrell with a Bruce Lee facepalm and shouldering Ben Youngs off the ball.
Execution errors are acceptable, but questionable effort should be a potential red flag that one’s desire is coming to an end.
Both Whitelock and Sonny Bill Williams are responsible for this line break last year against the Wallabies just seven minutes into the second half at Eden Park.
One player at least puts his body on the line to make a diving tackle attempt while the other stands by and fails to give anything other than a flailing hand, even with the ball-carrier running in his direction.
They are different athletes, but there should be no difference between their effort output.
This is just one isolated incident, but nonetheless is one that worries for a player potentially meant to carry on in test rugby until 2023.
A player of Whitelock’s calibre should never be beaten like that without at least making an attempt, less than 10 minutes after a half-time break.
It is the play of someone injured, which could have been the case, or someone not at the level required anymore.
Just remember, Rieko Ioane’s and Ben Smith’s starting jobs were quickly axed after one off-night in Perth. It doesn’t take a lot to force change within the All Black camp.
Romanticism and being sentimental aren’t what builds long-term greatness in professional sports teams. Richie McCaw and Dan Carter were able to get a fairytale finish but that won’t happen every time.
At the age of 30, Whitelock’s contract with New Zealand Rugby was extended on a four-year twilight deal with very favourable terms, which he himself admitted if he didn’t receive he was ready to walk away from test rugby and play in Japan.
“I thought we were just going to go to Japan and not come back to New Zealand,” he said.
It sounds like he was already mentally prepared to leave it all behind. NZR touted it as a ‘major coup’ while Whitelock talked admirably about the exit clause.
“That’s [exit clause] one of the key things that flipped it around from going,” he explained.
Moving on from the international game is already on his mind.
There is nothing left for Whitelock to achieve or prove, he is a test centurion, two-time World Cup winner and three-time Super Rugby champion, with numerous Bledisloe Cups and Rugby Championships.
He will go down as one of the all-time great locks, and few that can match his achievements.
But once he is back in the All Black environment, he must be selected on form or future potential, not past achievements, like any other player. He is not in the development stage so that means it must only be on form.
He doesn’t generate gain line carries or offloads like Retallick, or make deft passes at the line like Barrett.
On tired limbs, he doesn’t eat space off the line and crush ball-carriers with dominant defence anymore.
He tackles serviceably, yes, but defence is more than tackle completion. His spacial coverage is less than that of Barrett’s and the Springboks and England have advanced past the All Blacks in terms of physicality.
He can still hit rucks using his big body to clean and run a lineout, but if other options offer more and are here for the long-term, that is perhaps where Foster should go.
If Whitelock’s leadership and intangible presence are invaluable, a mentoring role within the squad would suit, but a starting role cannot be offered without the form to back it up.
Maybe a light season in the Top League will see Whitelock get a second wind in his career, that cannot be ruled out.
There are younger locks like Quinten Strange and Pari Pari Parkinson who will be pushing for test caps soon. Scott Barrett and Brodie Retallick are in their prime now.
Do the All Blacks sacrifice the future to squeeze more out of Whitelock? The odds are just simply against him reaching the next World Cup.
If he desires to still play internationally this year and beyond, that is great, but the coaches should not give him a free ride to the detriment of the team.
The All Blacks have lived on the mantra that no one is bigger than the team for a long time, and many talented players have been moved on a year too soon rather than a year too late.
What happens with Sam Whitelock will test whether that still holds.
Comments on RugbyPass
The shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
1 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
8 Go to commentsNo 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
6 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.
56 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.
8 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 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 comments