All Blacks: Pieces of saving Sam jigsaw fall into place

Sam Whitelock has added 5kg to his frame. Photo / Getty Images

There was some confusion and an air of concern about the decision by the All Black coaches to keep Sam Whitelock out of the ITM Cup.

Initially, it didn't make sense - Whitelock, having barely played in the Tri Nations, surely had no business missing most of Canterbury's ITM Cup campaign?

The rationale was hard to understand and then there was the memory of Isaac Ross, who, like Whitelock the year before, had unexpectedly made the All Blacks in June only to be harshly discarded in September.

Parallels between the two locks were easy to draw but it's apparent now that Whitelock's career is following a different path.

There is no definitive proof but the form of Whitelock on tour so far suggests the decision to keep him out of action was the right one.

Still only 22, Whitelock took a physical pounding during Super 14 and, while he didn't start any June or Tri Nations tests, he was on the bench for most of them and the mental effort was major.

The coaches felt Whitelock needed time away from rugby and also a clear window to build his frame to equip it better for the demands of international football.

At 108kg, Whitelock was in danger of being snapped by some of the big men on the world stage. Compounding the danger was the lack of regard Whitelock held for his own well-being, so the coaches wanted him to be stronger to protect him in the collision zones.

"Sam made some good shifts," says All Black conditioning coach Nic Gill.

"He did a fair bit of weight training with Brad Thorn which was a bonus for us. We wanted to get him stronger and, working with our nutritionists, we managed to get about 5kg of lean muscle on him."

The effect of that physical growth has been apparent. Whitelock held his own at Twickenham against a supremely physical English pack and had the look of a future superstar when he romped all over Murrayfield, dominating the kickoffs and lineouts against the Scots.

Tom Donnelly returned to the starting XV this morning but he's no longer the automatic choice to partner Thorn as he once was.

Whitelock has closed the gap - he's maybe even moved ahead of his senior rival. If Whitelock starts against Wales, it will be a big clue that he's now viewed ahead of Donnelly. Even if he's not, there is no question he will be in the longer term.

"He's 22 and he's still growing into his body," says All Black assistant coach Steve Hansen.

"We felt that he had a lot of physical work. He played a lot of time in Super 14 and, from the mental side of things, he had to get up every week for us even though he wasn't playing a lot of rugby for us. Even just having the odd cameo appearance, he still had to go through the preparation, which is actually quite taxing.

"We thought we needed to allow him to get into the gym and do some work and, just as importantly, to give him some clear head space. We have seen so far on this tour that he's played some very good rugby and that he is going to be a lock for the future."

What excites Hansen most about Whitelock is that he has all the component parts and therefore has the potential to evolve as his career develops. That type of athlete has been rare in New Zealand.

The tendency tends to be that locks in New Zealand are either out-and-out tight players such as Brad Thorn and Keith Robinson from the outset of their careers, or they are rangy, athletic types such as Ali Williams and Chris Jack.

Few have managed to start as one and become the other but Whitelock could break the mould according to Hansen.

"I think he'll go through the transition of both. He'll start as one of those guys who is really athletic, who gets around the park and does all the carries. He will then, as he finishes his career, probably go into that tighter role where he's doing the hard yards and some other young buck is doing the carries.

"At 22, you would think as long as he doesn't get a major injury, he's going to play a lot of tests and be around for a long time. In 10 years, he'll be a different type of athlete."