{"id":11642,"date":"2020-05-23T21:11:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-23T09:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/?p=11642"},"modified":"2020-05-23T21:11:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-23T09:11:01","slug":"whitelock-returns-excited-by-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2020\/05\/23\/whitelock-returns-excited-by-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Whitelock returns excited by changes"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">Happy to be a lieutenant for captain Cane<\/h3>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lynn.substack.com\/people\/4639318\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">by Lynn McConnell <\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">May 22<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">All Blacks lock and Crusader Sam Whitelock might be one of the most experienced still playing in New Zealand but he is looking forward to participating in the changed rugby scene in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Whitelock said it seemed like a lot had been packed into the last six months but it had been enjoyable and when he returned to training in Christchurch on Wednesday he said it felt as if he had only been away for a month.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/94xfNJBva_w\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">While overlooked for the role of captain of the All Blacks, something coach Ian Foster explained to him by phone a day or two before the announcement of Sam Cane in the role, Whitelock said he didn&#8217;t need the captain&#8217;s armband to help people out and to make a difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">He said Cane would need plenty of help and he was keen to help out where he could so there were upsides about him only worrying about himself and playing well and helping Cane if he needed it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">A two-time World Cup-winning medalist, Whitelock said having to settle for a bronze medal for the first time in Japan last year was something that would stay with him for a long time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">&#8220;There are things you look back at now and think, &#8216;if only we had done this or if only we had done that&#8217;. You can&#8217;t live your life like that&#8217;, it&#8217;s history now so you can&#8217;t change it. The thing I&#8217;m looking forward to is not making those mistakes again for Canterbury, the Crusaders and, hopefully, the All Blacks,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Having been in Hawke&#8217;s Bay on his farm during the lockdown after returning from Japan, Whitelock said the return to play would have some of his neighbours and friends excited along with the rest of the country to have live sport again.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">&#8220;Whether it&#8217;s rugby, netball, hockey or whatever, I think it&#8217;s going to be cool to get out there and have some different entertainment. Everyone is sick of watching movies and Netflix and doing those things.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">&#8220;But the one thing this virus has done, it&#8217;s given people more time with their families and that&#8217;s something we tried to do, use it as a positive spin. It&#8217;s the first time I&#8217;ve been able to have breakfast, lunch and dinner with my kids and get to appreciate what my wife does, so I&#8217;m giving her a plug for the work she does and everyone else out there who works hard,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">Whitelock said the intended shape of Super Rugby Aotearoa was going to be hard with a lot of emphasis on recovery and reviews, being smart and using the whole squad.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">&#8220;It&#8217;s going to be great but the reality is there are going to be some sore bodies and some big clashes but I think that is what the public is looking forward to. As it flows on Mitre 10 Cup is going to be awesome and maybe a North-South game thrown in also which is something I am excited with and playing against a lot of people I have played rugby with,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">The prospect was with players looking to get out on the rugby field and express themselves that some outstanding rugby could result and if the weather held up there was every chance there would be plenty of entertainment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">With the Mitre 10 Cup, he thought his last game for Canterbury was in 2010 and it would be special to play again, especially if fellow All Blacks were sprinkled through the other sides.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">He said one of his memories of the earlier times was playing alongside Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Kieran Read which helped him realise they were not that far away when playing beside them. The other aspect was that it involved being among players who were making the step up from club rugby and the benefit that would provide for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">&#8220;The learning and enjoyment we got from having them around was pretty awesome,&#8221; he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><em>If you liked this post from <a href=\"https:\/\/lynn.substack.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Silver Fern Sports<\/a>, why not share it?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\u00a9 2020 Lynn McConnell<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Happy to be a lieutenant for captain Cane by Lynn McConnell May 22 All Blacks lock and Crusader Sam Whitelock might be one of the most experienced still playing in New Zealand but he is looking forward to participating in the changed rugby scene in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Whitelock said it seemed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11643,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Whitelock returns excited by changes\r\nhttps:\/\/wp.me\/p4wlzH-31M","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11642","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rugbyheartland-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/HZ4Ijfbc.jpeg?fit=688%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4wlzH-31M","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7434,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2018\/08\/16\/all-blacks-team-named-for-opening-bledisloe-cup-test\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":0},"title":"All Blacks team named for opening Bledisloe Cup Test","author":"admin_hland","date":"August 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"All Blacks team named for opening Bledisloe Cup Test Sam Whitelock to play 100th Test; Retallick and Read return The All Blacks team has been named to play Australia in the opening Bledisloe Cup Test of the Investec Rugby Championship at ANZ Stadium, Sydney, on Saturday 18 August, with lock\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;RugbyHeartland News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"RugbyHeartland News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/rugbyheartland-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/news_1__517363794zx.jpg?fit=995%2C621&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/news_1__517363794zx.jpg?fit=995%2C621&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/news_1__517363794zx.jpg?fit=995%2C621&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/news_1__517363794zx.jpg?fit=995%2C621&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19769,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2023\/10\/27\/all-blacks-named-for-rugby-world-cup-final-against-south-africa\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":1},"title":"All Blacks named for Rugby World Cup final against South Africa","author":"admin_hland","date":"October 27, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"All Blacks selectors Ian Foster, Jason Ryan and Joe Schmidt have named the team to play the final of the Rugby World Cup in Paris. With 1387 Test caps, this is the All Blacks\u2019 most experienced team to play a Rugby World Cup final. \u201cIt is an honour to fly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;RugbyHeartland News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"RugbyHeartland News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/rugbyheartland-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/final23xxz.png?fit=1200%2C912&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/final23xxz.png?fit=1200%2C912&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/final23xxz.png?fit=1200%2C912&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/final23xxz.png?fit=1200%2C912&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/final23xxz.png?fit=1200%2C912&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1365,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2014\/09\/12\/preview-canterbury-v-wellington\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":2},"title":"Preview: Canterbury v Wellington","author":"admin_hland","date":"September 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow @RedefinedRugby Usually such matches are hailed as replays of the grand final from the season before, but while Canterbury have looked every bit the defending champions so far, the Lions in 2014 have looked to be a shadow of their most recent vintages. Squad update: Scott Robertson has, as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ITM Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ITM Cup","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/itm-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17403,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2022\/11\/18\/team-naming-all-blacks-side-to-play-england-at-twickenham\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":3},"title":"TEAM NAMING: All Blacks side to play England at Twickenham","author":"admin_hland","date":"November 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Brodie Retallick named to play 100th Test in Northern Tour clash with England\u00a0 All Blacks selectors Ian Foster, Joe Schmidt and Jason Ryan have named Brodie Retallick for his 100th All Blacks Test, against England at Twickenham. The 31-year-old will become the 12th All Black to reach the milestone and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;RugbyHeartland News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"RugbyHeartland News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/rugbyheartland-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/d72eb733-48cb-4d7c-9621-3147b0070d04-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/d72eb733-48cb-4d7c-9621-3147b0070d04-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/d72eb733-48cb-4d7c-9621-3147b0070d04-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/d72eb733-48cb-4d7c-9621-3147b0070d04-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/d72eb733-48cb-4d7c-9621-3147b0070d04-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":333,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2014\/05\/12\/players-named-to-attend-ablacks-wider-training-group-camps\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":4},"title":"Players named to attend All Blacks wider training group camps","author":"admin_hland","date":"May 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow @RedefinedRugby \"A wider training group of 35 players has been selected to attend the All Blacks training camps ahead of the three Steinlager Series Tests against England.\" The two training camps will be held in Christchurch from Sunday 18 May - Tuesday 20 May and Wellington from Sunday 25\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;RugbyHeartland News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"RugbyHeartland News","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/rugbyheartland-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/rhld_nzNews.jpg?fit=1024%2C356&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/rhld_nzNews.jpg?fit=1024%2C356&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/rhld_nzNews.jpg?fit=1024%2C356&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/rhld_nzNews.jpg?fit=1024%2C356&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":822,"url":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/2014\/08\/16\/canterbury-brutally-brush-aside-auckland\/","url_meta":{"origin":11642,"position":5},"title":"Canterbury brutally brush aside Auckland","author":"admin_hland","date":"August 16, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Follow @RedefinedRugby Canterbury v Auckland 48 - 09 The ITM Cup defending Premiership champions, the so-called slow season starters, have put together a near complete performance in beating Auckland 48-9 in Christchurch this evening. The two traditional powerhouses, who have won 27 overall titles between them, were totally different beasts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;ITM Cup&quot;","block_context":{"text":"ITM Cup","link":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/category\/itm-cup\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/fbcv_new.jpg?fit=850%2C316&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11642"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11644,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11642\/revisions\/11644"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rugbyheartland.co.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}