Why Sam’s the man to lead the ABS
COMMENT pitch. The All Blacks went after Conor Murray in Dublin in a way that was close to assault. They did the same in the first test of the Lions series. Jerome Kaino was fortunate to stay on the pitch.
That is a reflection on Read’s leadership. He is not that sort of player himself, but as captain he should not turn a blind eye to those in his team who are. Sonny Bill’s ugly hit on Watson did not come out of nowhere. Kaino’s high tackle on Alun Wyn Jones was far from an isolated incident in his own game.
Rory Best, Ireland’s captain, said after the brutality in Dublin: ‘‘I’m a parent myself and you don’t like to see people going off on stretchers.’’
Coach Joe Schmidt, a New Zealander, was not happy about the number of head injury assessments his team were going through after that match.
And in the end some sort of strange justice emerged. The All Blacks cost themselves a series victory because their violence in the tackle was penalised correctly.
After the final test Whitelock was asked about the reversed decision in the final minutes. He was offered an excuse. Whitelock said: ‘‘The call’s been made so we can’t change it. There’s a couple of things we’d like to go back in test one and test two, but you know that’s the way it is ... I think in general we probably let ourselves down with the discipline. So that would have been one of the things I’d like to go back and change.’’
They were interesting comments for two reasons. Firstly Whitelock did not question the referee’s call as Read did straight after the game. Secondly, he immediately identified the problem of discipline.
It has been apparent over the course of the season that Whitelock has an impressive
Whitelock has an impressive mana as a captain that perhaps Read lacks.
mana as a captain that perhaps Read lacks. You think of secondrow captains like Martin Johnson and John Eales and even Craig Clarke of the Chiefs. The best bring a (literally) high-minded authority, but they do not stand above their team.
I suggested Whitelock as a potential captain to Wayne Smith a few years ago and Smith was hesitant. Whitelock was probably still a bit young and immature then. But it is now apparent that Whitelock should be considered as All Blacks skipper. There seems less of a separation with the rest of the team and he is a better communicator with refs.
That was another factor in the Lions series. As soon as Sam Warburton came back as leader, the Lions could parlay like Mccaw used to. Read’s slightly highpitched voice and scary eyes and occasionally confrontational verbal style are not always endearing to refs. He intervenes too often and too aggressively and we have seen a few hackles rise.
New Zealand No 8s can make great captains. We think of Buck Shelford and Brian Lochore. Colin Meads said of Lochore: ‘‘He spared himself not an ounce working away in the tight-loose, covering, winning us great lineout ball in the deep, backing and filling and playing his part in the rolling drive-and-feed. As a captain he could be self-effacing, for this was the very nature of the man.’’
Funnily enough, although that description is apt for some of Read’s game and manner, it seems a complete portrait of Whitelock. Scott Robertson described his captain as ‘‘incredible’’ for the Crusaders this season. They talked on the phone almost every day and Whitelock mentioned the importance of that communication in the team’s success.
It’s an odd thing, but I was sitting a few rows behind Whitelock and Read on a plane a few weeks ago. Whitelock’s shirt was hanging out the back of his trousers, he was a bit of a scruff. But your eye was drawn to him and not to Read. He had a mana. You suspected that only Whitelock could have stood in for Viggo Mortensen as Captain Fantastic.