Former All Black Scott Waldrom has endorsed Sam Whitelock as captain of the New Zealand nation team.
Today’s All Blacks have had no less than four skippers in 2021, with Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Ardie Savea and Aaron Smith all sharing the duties in leading the side.
With full-time captain Sam Cane still returning to full fitness from pectoral and shoulder injuries, the All Blacks need some stability in their leadership.
SENZ Mornings host Ian Smith called for the national setup to stick with Whitelock, a 33-year-old veteran of 127 Tests, which is a sentiment shared by Waldrom.
“I think Sam (Whitelock) does come off pretty well in the media. He is quite a calm figure,” Waldrom said on SENZ Afternoons.
“Very experienced and well respected by everyone in that team.
“He’s been there and done that, he’s won just about everything in teams that he’s been in.
“I can 100 percent see why they would just leave him (Whitelock) as captain and let Sam (Cane) concentrate on actually playing some rugby.
“The last thing you want to be doing is putting pressure on a guy getting over long-term injuries and expecting him to be calm on the field when his lungs are screaming at him the whole game.”
Despite Cane’s return to the squad for their tour to the US and Europe, head coach Ian Foster has handed the captaincy to Whitelock.
Following Whitelock’s short stint as skipper in July against Tonga and Fiji and for much of the Bledisloe series, he will step in to replace Savea who captained the team in Australia during the Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks take on the USA at FedEx Field in Washington DC on Sunday (8:30am NZDT).