Whitelock reflects on his 149th cap and the moment he shared with Smith

He may now be the All Blacks’ all-time highest-scoring player, but Sam Whitelock says “not much has changed” for him and the team as they continue to chase Rugby World Cup glory.

Whitelock surpassed fellow great Richie McCaw to make the most All Blacks Test appearances on Saturday when he came off the bench for his 149th appearance in the black jersey during the team’s 96-17 World Cup win over Italy .

The 34-year-old was welcomed onto the pitch to a standing ovation from the 55,000-strong Lyon crowd, which included McCaw and other former All Blacks players as well as his teammates congratulating him at the time.

But since then it’s back on track.

“Life hasn’t really changed,” Whitelock told Breakfast.

“Our coach said, ‘I need you in the gym tomorrow at 10am, and I need you on the bike and everything.’ I thought he would be gentler with me, but it was a tough session.

“Nothing has changed, but I’ve gotten some amazing messages, amazing videos from people I spend a lot of time with and know very well, and also some people I don’t know very well, and it’s been very humbling.

“Over the last day or so, I’ve taken a little time to slow down and stop and think about how amazing this is.”

Whitelock admitted it had been a “weird week” leading up to the match, but when the moment arrived, it was encapsulated in images of long-time teammate Aaron Smith, who was one of the first to congratulate him with a handshake of sorts as he took the field. .

Although it was a heartwarming moment, Whitelock admitted that the feeling didn’t immediately work.

“That’s probably the easiest way to sum it up because usually when I go on the pitch there’s a lineout or a scrum or we’ve just scored, so there’s always something to do.”

“But I went out there and played a lot of rugby and knew Aaron Smith since I was 13 and he tried to shake my hand and I said, ‘Get out of my way, I just want to get on with it.’ with my work!

“Aaron said some amazing things after the game, gave me another jersey, so it was really, really nice to have him here because he’s been there since my high school days and most of my professional career.”

Now that the record has been broken, Whitelock said he is back to focusing on what he really went to France for – a third World Cup.

Whether this will come to fruition or not remains to be seen, but after this campaign he added that he knows that much of his life will come to an end.

“When I retire, whenever that may be, from rugby completely, it will be very difficult to replace it because it has been such a big part of my life for a long time.

“But I know that my wife and my children look forward to having me around instead of hanging out somewhere away from home.

“So I’m also looking forward to the next challenge.”