Another milestone awaits
Brodie Retallick hails from outer space. Sam Whitelock is pig headed.
So says Steve Hansen, a man reasonably well qualified to offer such assessments given his close proximity to the second rowers.
Retallick and Whitelock have already set a record for most starts together as All Blacks locks in tests – and will crack the 50-match milestone against Ireland in Dublin on Sunday morning. Ian Jones and Robin Brooke stitched together 49 appearances in the 1990s, but in four of their matches they did not start together.
Some say Retallick and Whitelock, who have played 73 and 107 tests respectively, are the world’s best second rowers. It’s a judgment All Blacks coach Hansen, even if he could stand accused of bias, believes is fair.
‘‘I think they are probably the best one [locking combination] we have had,’’ he says. ‘‘They complement each other really well, I know there has been talk about Sammy being tired but he will get a good break next year.
‘‘When they are both on form, they are pretty special players. Retallick is one from outer space and Sammy is not far behind him.’’
Despite being the captain of the Crusaders, Whitelock, 30, is expected to delay his return to the Super Rugby champions next season as part of a strategy to keep him fresh for the All Blacks defence of the Webb Ellis Cup in Japan.
Unlike Retallick, whose workload has been less intense due to injury, Whitelock, who is expected to take over as captain when Kieran Read retires after the 2019 World Cup, has looked like a fellow with an invisible sack of coal tied across his shoulder blades.
Each of the locks has his quirks, too, Hansen noted.
‘‘Sammy is an interesting character, in that he wants to do more and you have to pull him back at times,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘And Brodie is a little less that way. He will listen.
‘‘Sammy is a bit more pig headed. They are both good athletes to coach, no doubt about that. Sammy has become a very good leader in our group, too, and a very good captain. He is a good man.’’
Scott Barrett has been named on the bench as lock cover for the test against Ireland, although against England in London last week he slotted in at blindside flanker as a replacement for Liam Squire. That forced Retallick and Whitelock to play the full 80 minutes.
The arrival of Barrett provided the All Blacks with three tall jumpers in the lineouts, which resulted in the English set piece going into a meltdown. When Barrett immediately won a ball at the front of the lineout at Twickenham, thrower Jamie George appeared to lose confidence and Retallick then ransacked several more throws.
It is the sort of pressure the All Blacks will want to apply against the Irish; create self-doubt by competing, and work the ball off the top.
Fielding talented locks Retallick and Whitelock means the opposition always has to be alert, Hansen said.
‘‘They complement each other in the fact that you [the opposition] can look after one but the other one is going to hurt you if you put all the attention on one of them.’’
Both got their first test caps against Ireland. Whitelock scored two tries in his debut in New Plymouth in 2010, and two years later Retallick, now 27, was capped against the same foe in Auckland when he played alongside the former.
‘‘They inspire other people to be like them, that’s the thing,’’ Hansen said. ‘‘Retallick will be inspiring young players all around the country, who play in his position, to be able to catch and pass and run with the ball. Sammy has done the same thing.’’