Congratulations to Sam Whitelock, who brings up his 100th test cap this weekend in Sydney. Since making his test debut back in 2010, the 203cm, 120kg lock has been an integral part of one of the most successful teams in the history of Rugby.

It's very rare that a player earns 100 test caps. And even rarer when they're still in arguably the very best form of their career. His longevity is only matched by his durability.

Sam Whitelock could retire on Sunday and still have had an elite career. 100 test caps, two RWC's, countless Rugby Championships and Bledisloe Cups and a couple of Super Rugby titles thrown in for good measure. But hopefully at just 29 years of age this colossus of our game has plenty more test caps and plenty more achievements left in him. Well done Sam Whitelock

Legendary Gullivering of John Key, too.

With so much focus on BBB, Sam is free to go about his business of winning lineouts, shifting bodies in rucks, tackling any enemy that moves, crashing the ball up, often hard enough to break the gainline, and providing real grunt in the scrum.

He is my favourite current AB.

Same

Good leader as well.

After the departure of the two GOATS our second row really has been the key to NZ's dominance post 2015. Sam has always been another captain in the forwards, and arguably the best lineout exponent in word rugby now, his nouse puts opponents lineouts under constant pressure. People can talk all they want about Carter's drop goal in the semi, as amazing as it was, Sam's lineout steal was the real nail in the coffin for the Saffas.

Incredible workrate, could hit 150 caps if he stays in NZ.

He has a 90% win record as captain in 40 pro games for the Saders and ABs. Surely an all time captaincy record

Good lord, where has time gone?

Who can forget this his try against the reds a few years back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsoAIGPBmVE

Whitelock and Retallick have really become the foundation of the ABs, can't believe Sam has reached 100 caps already though, and still in the form of his life.
Really looks like he could equal the number of caps of McCaw at this rate.

Nothing special about it.

3 tests in June during the super rugby break. 4 during the rugby championship and 4 on the end-of-year-tour.

Won't take long to get there.

That'd be 6 during the RC plus the extra bled.

Nothing special of course unless you consider to play all those games you have to be selected in the ABs for 8 years, I'd say that's special enough in itself.

Watch Genia "tracking back" after that break. He doesn't want to know about it!

”Nothing special” was a little heavy handed but what I think Cathy was trying to say is that it is far more common in the professional era, so we shouldn’t celebrate the milestone in isolation. There has to be something additional to make the mark “special” and I think we can all agree that Ali did an excellent job in identifying the additional distinguishing factors for Whitelock.

Although currently a staggering 53 players have made it to 100 caps, there is a far more exclusive club of double world champion 100 cappers.

Congratulations to Sam on becoming the seventh member of that club and only the fourth who started both finals. That’s not something that happens every week, or at least it won’t be until the following week if Owen Franks then does the same thing.

He didn't want to feel the full wrath of a Sam Whitelock sidestep

100 caps in 8 years is extraordinary. Has he never missed a test through injury? He could go on to win 150 before he retires. He won’t though because he’s going to join Montpellier or Bath after the RWC

Fortunately for us he wasn't present in Chicago.

Oh yeah, Kaino at second row . That went well

About time somebody started this thread for Sam Whitelock.

100+ cap All Black players:

1. McCaw
2. Mealamu
3. Woodcock
4. Carter
5. Read
6. Nonu
7. Muliana

And didn't 5 of them all retire at the same time? With Conrad ( a mere 94 tests) Smith in tow?
The transition has gone better than it had any right to.

This ^^^

I became a fan for life that moment.

Toro speaketh the truth.

In my mind Sam isn't really known for his rampaging running game, that's more Retallick, which makes that try all the more surprising. Impressive pace, step and fend in that try.

Whitelock and Retallick are the best AB locking combination that I've seen play. The only other locking combination who are comparable to them (that I can immediately think of) are Matfield and Botha.

For me the AB locking pair order has always been the Meads, Thorn and Whitelock, Meads and Strahan, Williams and Thorn, Brooke and Jones, and Whetton and Haden.

Whitelock and Retallick sit at the top of the pack for me now.

An incredible career Sam has had and also one of the select few to be part of the All Blacks test cap brotherhood of brothers.

Looking at that list I really feel for Mils. One of my favourite players and like everyone else part of that list fully deserving of being a RWC champion, alas it wasn't to be.

He still is a RWC winner though.

Damn fine player, one of the best ever. Only 29 too.

Not really the same as playing in the match day 22 though is it?

Yeah and like Christian Cullen he has the dishonour of being selected at centre in the previous, 2007 losing effort.

It's amazing looking back that the AB coaches didn't have faith in Conrad Smith at that 2007 RWC.

Could not agree more!! A real class player!!

Another one I could not agree with more< that lineout win was almost play of the tournament!!
I would of had him as International player of the year in 2015!!

Well done

I don't follow that theory - a WC is winning 7 games, if you play in those games you contribute to the winning of the games. TBH, Mils was probably lucky with his injury as it mean't he didn't get dropped.

Yeah I don't get the Mils thing. All of NZ gets to celebrate but noooo not you Mils, despite being in the actual squad playing in the tournament and a 100 test All Black

I mean, he got to celebrate (just like Dan Carter) he just didn't get to play.



I get Kahu's point, they'd both have desperately wanted to play (though Mils probably would have been usurped in the 15 jersey by iDagg) but they both contributed and can rightly be called champions.

I rate him very highly and think he's better than Big Dumb Brodie. He does the nasty stuff in tight and doesn't get involved in the niggle as much.

100 caps? How many more will he get?

You'd be wrong, but there's not much in it.

He was an integral member of the squad and earned his champion's medal