Sam Whitelock set to pass Richie McCaw as most capped All Black

Richie McCaw might be the greatest rugby player in history. With two Rugby World Cup crowns to his name, and a staggeringly impressive win-loss record, McCaw is certainly in the conversation.

The name ‘Richie McCaw’ will live on in rugby folklore forever, but as the old sporting adage goes, all records are made to be broken.

Another legendary All Black can surpass one of McCaw’s greatest individual accomplishments if he comes off the bench against Italy. That famed New Zealander is none other than Sam Whitelock.

Whitelock, 34, equalled McCaw’s record for the most test caps for an All Black with 148 during the emphatic 71-3 win over Namibia in Toulouse earlier this month.

But with a minimum of two World Cup games still to be played for the New Zealanders in France, it seemed inevitable that Whitelock would overtake McCaw in the record books.

All Blacks appearance 149 is potentially just a matter of days away for Whitelock, who has been named on the bench – and more history beckons in the weeks to come, too.

"I don't think it takes the romance out of it (that Whitelock is on the bench). This is a credit to Sam, every game he is achieving something new at the moment,” coach Ian Foster told reporters on Wednesday.

“He equalled a record last week, he's going to beat it this week. He's got 150 (caps) coming up and then he's got the most capped All Black in World Cups. Every day is a bit of a statement of something he's achieving.”

All Blacks selectors have picked Brodie Retallick and Scott Barrett as the two starting locks to take on the Azzurri at OL Stadium. It's pretty much a full-strength team for New Zealand.

With the All Blacks’ dreams of World Cup glory hanging in the balance – a loss to Italy would all but end their campaign – the selectors may have shown their hand.

Foster was asked about whether Retallick and Barrett were the first-choice locks, and the coach responded by speaking about the four locks he’s “happy with.”

"It's the order we have for this game. I won't commit to saying it's the absolute pecking order. We just feel that right now, it's the right one for this game.

"We've got four locks that we are pretty happy with their form. We've got Brodie (Retallick) who is coming back from injury, he's missed a bit of rugby. He played a little bit in that France game and [against] Namibia he got 55 minutes, so we really feel he needs more time."

The All Blacks opened their Rugby World Cup campaign with a disastrous loss to hosts France in Paris. It was unfamiliar territory for the New Zealanders, who had never lost a pool match before.

Every match is a must-win for them now, and that includes Friday night’s clash with Italy. The Azzurri have come a long way in a few years and will be desperate for a first-ever win over New Zealand.