Crusaders veteran Sam Whitelock is likely to play in the Super Rugby Pacific final against the Chiefs despite All Blacks head coach Ian Foster all but ruling him out of the match due to his Achilles injury.
Whitelock, a key member of the Crusaders and a crucial cog in the All Blacks’ pack, has been sidelined since June 3 when he didn’t take the pitch after halftime of the Crusaders’ defeat to the Hurricanes in Wellington in the final match of the regular season.
He missed his side’s big consecutive playoff wins over the Fijian Drua and Blues in Christchurch but has trained fully this week and 1News understands if that continues, he will be named for the crunch match at Waikato Stadium on Saturday night – a clash likely to be his final outing for the Crusaders.
Whitelock recently announced that he will be joining his brother Luke at French club Pau after the World Cup.
The significance of the game as the Crusaders chase their seventh title in seven years under head coach Scott Robertson has been driving Whitelock’s rehabilitation efforts.
He has told friends he wants to “go out on my own terms” which will likely see him named in the team on Thursday afternoon, a huge boost for the injury-hit Crusaders against a Chiefs pack containing such All Blacks as Samisoni Taukei’aho, Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane, Tupou Vaa'i, Josh Lord, Luke Jacobson and newcomer Samipeni Finau.
But not everyone will be happy. Whitelock’s determination to play, and Robertson’s willingness to select him, may put the pair on a collision course with Foster. Robertson will replace Foster after the World Cup.
The current All Blacks head coach told Sky’s Breakdown show after the Rugby Championship squad naming on Sunday night that Whitelock was unlikely to play, saying: “We’ll wait and see on Sam Whitelock. We certainly wouldn’t expect him to play based on the medical data that we’ve got with his Achilles.”
Foster is clearly concerned that Whitelock’s troublesome Achilles – the 34-year-old returned and performed admirably over 80 minutes against the Waratahs in round 14 before the relapse a week later in Wellington – will sideline him during the upcoming Rugby Championship and World Cup.
But Crusaders assistant coach Dan Perrin this morning gave a far more optimistic outlook on Whitelock’s availability which would have been influenced by the man himself.
“Watching that guy rehabilitate that Achilles injury over the last two or three weeks has been unbelievable,” Perrin said.
“He’s got his foot in an ice bucket every morning, he’s in the physio’s three or four times daily, so he’s doing everything he can to make himself available.
“At the end of the day you trust his decision. He’s an experienced campaigner so we trust the decision he makes.”
Asked about Foster’s less positive comments, Perrin replied: “I didn’t hear that at all… as I say, we trust the medical team and Sam’s decision.”
Whitelock made his All Blacks debut in 2010 and will overtake Richie McCaw’s record 148 Test caps this year provided he remains fit.
Whitelock is on 143 caps. The All Blacks will play five Tests before the World Cup, which kicks off for them against France in Paris on September 9.
The Chiefs, beaten only once in the regular season, are currently narrow favourites to beat the Crusaders for their first championship since 2013.
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