2023-09-15 15:01:08
We can, without going too far, tell you that Namibia risks leaving with full suitcases. Corrected by Italy in the opening (52-8), the African selection continues this Friday, September 15 in the evening against New Zealand at the Toulouse Stadium (9 p.m.).
And the All Blacks are hungry. After their initial defeat against the Blues (27-13) at the Stade de France, they will only be looking for two things: to get an improved victory and to reassure themselves in their game. All to celebrate another event, the 148th selection of Sam Whitelock, the second row double world champion (2011, 2015).
With this total, Samuel Lawrence Whitelock, his full name, will join a legend: Richie McCaw, former captain of the All Blacks who is also a double world champion (2011, 2015) and elected three times the best player in the world of rugby. A monument.
“It took two roasts to feed them all”
“He’s been playing for so long,” current New Zealand captain Ardie Savea said of his teammate. I admire the way he plays. We all know he’s a workaholic. I saw him adapt and evolve. He’s been there since Richie and Reado’s (Kieran Read) days. He was the youngest. Since then, he has seen the generations arrive. He is able to identify with everyone, he is interested and tries to understand other cultures. After the match, he will have time to put the immense success achieved into perspective. »
Aged 34, Sam Whitelock (2.02 m, 117 kg) is part of a family of four boys, all rugby players, all of whom played for the All Blacks (even if for Adam, a former rowing player, he was rugby sevens). The youngest, Luke, even wore the New Zealand armband. “They ate a lot. It took two roasts to feed them all, mainly mutton (…). Potatoes, vegetables and fruit salad with ice cream almost every night,” their mother Caroline Whitelock told the New Zealand Herald in 2013, describing her children’s childhood on their farm in Linton, in the center of the northern island of the country.
“Everything was a competition,” Luke remembers. It was up to the one who could run to the corner and back the fastest, the one who could do the most pull-ups, the one who won at rugby in the garden… Lots of crying, fighting but in the end, good moments and memories. »
In a few weeks, at the end of the World Cup, Sam and Luke will play together in the green jersey of the Pau Section in the Top 14. A color reminiscent of Sam Whitelock’s debut in the selection, in 2010 against Ireland. The first of his 120 successes (in 147 capes, therefore, a prodigious ratio of 82% of victories) with the black tunic. In his second line position, he scored seven international tries (35 points), including one in the World Cup, in 2019, against… Namibia.
The first triple world champion player?
“It’s an incredible moment for Sam and for the group,” said All Blacks coach Ian Foster. He’s been a warrior on this team for a very long time. To match someone like Richie is an incredible accomplishment. We all know what it means for him to wear the black jersey. Doing it for the 148th time is a unique opportunity. We must achieve a performance worthy of this record. After the match, we will celebrate with him and his family. What he achieved is a great honor. » Imagine what people will say about Sam Whitelock if he becomes the first player to be crowned three-time world champion on October 28.
Sam Whitelock celebrated his 147th cap during the All Blacks’ defeat against France at the opening of the World Cup. Abaca/Icon Sport/Victor Joly
Until then, barring injury, he will get closer to the international record held by Welshman Alun Wyn Jones and his 158 caps (171 if we count the caps with the Lions, a team of the best British players). But it will stay there, since the New Zealanders do not select any player playing outside the borders. His move to Béarn will put an end to this thirteen-year-long adventure under the White Fern jersey, just like that of the Crusaders, the Super Rugby franchise based in Christchurch. A lifetime. In 2018, Whitelock became the fastest New Zealander to reach 100 caps, at just 30 years old.
“I never thought I would achieve this feat,” he confided to the site Rugby Rama last April. It went very quickly for me. I went from Crusaders player to All Black in the space of a year. Deep down, I thought I wasn’t physically ready. I only weighed 106 kg when I should have been at 120, I was quite thin but I really had this desire to toughen up and progress alongside exceptional players. Guys like Brad Thorn, Keven Mealamu and Richie McCaw really supported me in their own way. I owe them a lot, they helped me so much. » Today, Sam Whitelock passed them.
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