Analysis: The All Blacks head coach faces a delicate balancing act managing disappointment if he attracts veteran lock back home, writes Patrick McKendry.
There was always a sense that Sam Whitelock, one of the best locks New Zealand has produced, didn’t get the send-off he deserved.
One of the enduring images from last year’s World Cup will be his crucial turnover in the dying seconds of the quarter-final against Ireland at a full and spellbound Stade de France, and it’s one that sums him up; the exhausted Whitelock calmly and bravely getting over a tackled Irishman as his All Blacks teammates defended their line against the waves of green and winning the penalty which sent them into the semifinal.
It was fitting because it was a piece of accuracy and excellence in a Test full of those qualities – Whitelock’s intervention tipping the balance New Zealand’s way as the now 35-year-old did so often during his 153 internationals, a record for the nation.
That the All Blacks’ campaign in France ultimately ended in defeat at the hands of the Springboks will likely be Whitelock’s enduring memory, however.
Well, that and the fact he was relegated to a bench role for the quarter-final and final behind Scott Barrett and Brodie Retallick. For a man who prided himself on the maintaining the highest standards, that would have been difficult to stomach. That he performed so well in an unfamiliar role was a testament to his professionalism and that's one of the things that makes him so attractive to Scott Robertson.
So now that Whitelock, back in France and playing the first of two contracted seasons for Pau, is reportedly considering an offer to return to New Zealand has the potential to not only be quite the coup for the new All Blacks coach – it could also close the circle on the veteran’s Test career in what many may consider a more appropriate way.
It could also represent one of the toughest management challenges the man known as Razor has faced.
Whitelock, should he return, will want assurances, and the promise of the captaincy could be one.
Robertson has refused to say who is in the frame as his captain, but presumably the incumbent Sam Cane, a man closely aligned to the Ian Foster era, is not in it. Ardie Savea and Scott Barrett will be, though, and, given the latter’s closeness to Robertson during the Crusaders’ run to seven consecutive titles, he may have felt he had the inside running.
Whitelock was said to be extremely disappointed when he was passed over by Foster. The captaincy could be the prize which gets this SOS across the line.
And there is a hint of a rescue mission in Robertson’s approach. England’s form in the Six Nations was inconsistent but they finished in a way which suggested they will provide a challenge during their Tests in Dunedin and Auckland in July.
And then there is the Bledisloe Cup - the first Test of the series and what will be a highly anticipated showdown against Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt is in Sydney on September 21 before the return Test in Wellington a week later.
Robertson will obviously be desperate to get one over on Schmidt and retain a trophy the All Blacks have held since 2003 and Whitelock’s presence will help that – for his experience and set piece knowledge as much as anything.
Scott Barrett’s place in the second row is not up for debate but Robertson’s other options there are not as compelling. Josh Lord, 23, Tupou Vaa’i, 24, and Patrick Tuipulotu, 31, are the obvious candidates but the first two are inexperienced at Test level and the latter yet to find the consistency to make him an automatic choice – despite several opportunities.
Managing the expectations and potential disappointment of Lord and Vaa’i, in particular, could be challenging for Robertson, not to mention that of Cane, Savea and Scott Barrett at the other end of the experience scale. Robertson has quite rightly built a stellar reputation at pulling teams together to work as one and he more than anyone will be aware of the tenuous nature of team harmony.
Another big upside is Whitelock’s potential to form a mentoring type of partnership alongside forwards coach Jason Ryan, with whom he worked closely at the Crusaders. That would be invaluable for the All Blacks and indeed could be beneficial for the man himself should he want to get into coaching in the near future.
And then there is the value he could add to the Crusaders, assuming he would return there, and it's difficult to see him wanting to play for anyone else.
The latest from that beleaguered franchise is that All Black David Havili has been sidelined by a calf injury – another setback for the defending champions yet to win a game this season, are dead last on Super Rugby Pacific’s points table, and who host the in-form Chiefs tomorrow night.
Robertson may not be the only head coach living in Christchurch hoping for the return of an All Blacks legend.
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