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Whitelock leads All Blacks after Cane loss
By AAP
Sam Whitelock will be New Zealand's replacement captain for the rest of the team's northern hemisphere tour, All Blacks forward coach Jason Ryan has said.
Sam Cane withdrew from the squad after suffering a broken cheekbone. Cane incurred two small facial fractures in their 38-31 victory over Japan in Tokyo on Saturday and had to return to New Zealand while the rest of the squad travelled to Europe.
The All Blacks are due to play Wales in Cardiff on Saturday followed by tests against Scotland at Murrayfield on November 13 and England at Twickenham on November 19.
"Sam Whitelock will captain the All Blacks for this northern tour and Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett will be vice captains," the New Zealand Herald quoted Ryan as saying on Monday.
"Sam is really experienced and respected in the group. He's played 100-plus test matches and experienced a lot so he's the right man for the job.
"It was pretty straightforward and really well supported by the vice-captains."
The 34-year-old Crusaders lock has led New Zealand has been a replacement captain on a series of occasions and led the All Blacks in September's Rugby Championship-clinching victory over the Wallabies at Eden Park.
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Latest Comments
It was definitely a high shot: “There was one last twist in the game when Sotutu hit Peter Lakai in the head with his shoulder”. It’s a fine line between a dominant hit and a red these days.
Agree, the trio needs to work. Skills sets where one of the trio is weaker can be made up from the other two, or even the other forwards (but that’s getting on a slippery slope - tight forwards need to be dominant in their core roles first).
The All Blacks will probably settle on two all rounders, at 7 and 8; and a bruiser who can jump at 6. We’ll see. You never know what Robertson has planned. I think last year he was a bit conservative and this year (which might be his last, if results are the same as last year) could be his last chance to stamp his mark on the team.
Go to commentsYou’re the plonker, I think, with that poor comment. I’m merely making the point that in Sevens, you need a balance of plodders & speedsters. Unfortunately the AB7s are unbalanced atm. About 6 or 7 of their dynamic playmakers went to XVs this year. Hence, I can’t see how results would change.
Agree re the BF7s. Superb, both on & off the field.
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