PARIS – Sam Whitelock, the most capped player in All Blacks history, will retire from professional rugby at the end of the season with his club Pau in France, the 35-year-old lock said on April 2.
He played 153 Test matches after his international debut in 2010 and was part of the All Blacks sides who won the World Cup in 2011 and 2015.
“I’ve been having a few conversations with my wife Hannah and the kids around what the future looks like for us. And it’s time to finish the playing chapter of rugby,” Whitelock said in a statement shared by New Zealand Rugby.
“It’s not a decision that we have come to lightly, but it’s the right thing for myself and it’s the right thing for my wife and our three kids.”
Whitelock started his senior career at Canterbury in 2008 and played for the Crusaders in Super Rugby from 2010, helping the franchise win the championship five times before joining Pau in 2023.
“Sam is an immortal of our incredible game,” New Zealand coach Scott Robertson said. “Sam’s impact has been immense both mentally and physically over four World Cup cycles. He is a winner who rose to any occasion.”
Whitelock was the youngest All Black to play 100 Tests and the quickest in the world to achieve the milestone.
His overall appearance record places him second only to Alun Wyn Jones of Wales on the all-time list of most-capped internationals.
New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson hailed Whitelock as “a sounding board for numerous players, coaches, administrators and others” and hinted he could find eventually join the All Blacks’ coaching set-up.
“While he’s hanging up his boots, we know he’ll stay involved in rugby one way or another in the future,” he said.
In another blow for New Zealand, All Blacks scrum half Cam Roigard is set to be sidelined for at least six months after rupturing a knee ligament, his Super Rugby team Wellington Hurricanes said on April 3.
He was stretchered off after tearing his left patella tendon in the Hurricanes’ win over the Otago Highlanders on March 30.
He underwent surgery in Auckland on April 2, the club said in a statement.
“Provided all goes well with his rehabilitation he could be back as soon as six months from now,” a team spokesman added.
The scrum half had been in great form in helping the Hurricanes win all six of their Super Rugby games so far this season, putting them top of the table.
Roigard will miss New Zealand’s home two-Test series against England in July and the Rugby Championship, starting in August, when the All Blacks defend their title.
Following the retirement of Aaron Smith from international duty, Roigard had been in contention to start for the All Blacks in 2024, before injury struck.
The 23-year-old faces a race against time to be fit for the Northern Hemisphere tour, starting in late October, when the All Blacks face Japan, England, Ireland, France and Italy away.
Roigard made the first of his five Test appearances in 2023, as a replacement against Australia.
He played three games at the World Cup in France as New Zealand finished runners-up to South Africa. REUTERS, AFP
