All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock is most likely ranked third by the national selectors. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks lock Sam Whitelock is most likely ranked third by the national selectors. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Because he’s every inch a competitor, Sam Whitelock will scrap with all he has to stay in contention as an All Blacks starter at lock.
If, as expected, he starts this week in Melbourne, watch him provide a timely reminder of why he’s New Zealand’s second-most cappedplayer of all time and why this time last year, former Ireland first five Ronan O’Gara said it was a 10-15-point game-changer when the veteran lock was ruled out of the second test due to concussion.
But, in what is the surest sign yet the All Blacks are in the best shape they have been in throughout this World Cup cycle, even a vintage performance by Whitelock may not be enough to see him win back his No 5 jersey longer-term.
The veteran Crusader remains somewhere close to the best version of himself. His lineout work is exemplary. He hits rucks the way he should, and his engine shows no signs of wear and tear.
And yet for all his experience and class, Whitelock is most likely ranked third by the national selectors.
He hasn’t regressed, but Scott Barrett has advanced his case this year with a portfolio of work that has shown growth in each core component of his game.
What sets him apart is his mobility, but more critically, the speed at which he enters contact.
All Blacks lock Scott Barrett in action against the Springboks. Photo / Photosport
It’s not just that Barrett can play as an auxiliary loose forward in terms of the area he can cover, it’s the acceleration he generates when he carries the ball, which is now a critical part in facilitating the high-tempo game the All Blacks want to play.
Retallick provided a similar level of athleticism and dynamism against the Boks, and their respective ability to shuffle their feet, change the line of attack and run on to the ball at a clip which surprises defenders is why these two have the inside running over Whitelock.
They both also have soft hands and innate timing when it comes to using the ball, yet more selling points given the All Blacks’ gameplan this year has focused on moving big defenders around in tight spaces and generating rapidly-recycled ball.
These are facets which are within Whitelock’s wheelhouse, but the strength of his game remains what he brings to the lineout and other aerial chores, and All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan signalled on Monday that some groundwork has already been done internally to brace everyone for a potential changing of the guard at lock.
Ryan pointed out that while the All Blacks have three world-class locks in their midst, who between them offer the sort of combined horsepower and rugby intelligence that few other teams can match, only two of them can start each test.
It has been laid out to Barrett, Whitelock, and Retallick, as well as the two emerging locks Tupou Vai’i and Josh Lord, that selection will not cater for reputations.
All Blacks locks Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick during a training session. Photo / Photosport
This is precisely how it should be; how the All Blacks always want it to be, but so rarely are there prolonged periods when the fortunes of so many great players are aligned, and that they are all in form and injury-free at the same time.
But this is what is happening at lock in 2023 - and from beginning the year with most commentators wondering how the All Blacks would manage to replace the departing Whitelock and Retallick, now it’s possible the successor to the former has already been found and is about to usurp him from the throne a few months earlier than anticipated.
There is enough rugby between now and the end of the year to imagine that the All Blacks will split workloads, but come the biggest games, expect to see Barrett and Retallick start at lock.
And while it may surprise many outside New Zealand to see the All Blacks start the biggest World Cup games with Barrett and Retallick, it won’t rock the boat internally or seem like the giant call it will be considered externally.
Whitelock is every inch the team man, the consummate professional and selfless warrior, who will continue to invest his soul in the All Blacks’ World Cup campaign, even if he’s more regularly assigned a spot on the bench.
Which is why the All Blacks will feel like they can’t lose on this. Whitelock is both a great player and a great man, and whatever role he’s assigned in the next few months, he’ll fulfil it without destabilising the team dynamic.
