All Blacks coach warns Test hopefuls over Super Rugby transition after revealing Sam Whitelock ‘square up’
Ex-All Blacks second-row Sam Whitelock and current coach Jason Ryan.
All Blacks’ forwards guru Jason Ryan has revealed that he was given a dressing down by legendary lock Sam Whitelock for comparing the Super Rugby knockouts to Test rugby.
It came during his Crusaders days as Ryan, who joined the Christchurch outfit in 2017, was speaking to the group ahead of an encounter in the latter stages of the competition a few years ago.
Whitelock had already established himself in the Test arena by that point and in fact was a two-time Rugby World Cup winner, regarded as one of the game’s greats.
Ryan never played at Test level but evidently felt the need to warn the players of the intensity they would be facing in the Super Rugby knockouts.
Whitelock’s words to coach
That duly irked the second-row with the outstanding coach, who has made a significant impact since joining the All Blacks set-up in 2022, getting a telling off.
Ryan was appearing on the official All Blacks podcast and was initially asked about the current franchises, with three of them reaching the semi-finals, and translating that onto the international arena.
“There are some teams that have got their own identities, which is really good, and that’s through the coaches that are leading them in their area. They understand their identity and what their own trademarks are as a team,” he said.
“When you look at the semi-finalists, the players understand their own roles within that system, so that’s encouraging. But it’s not Test match level.
“Even the semis and the final, it’s not Test match level. It’s a bigger contest than what the round-robin’s have been, but it’s not Test matches.
“I remember Sammy Whitelock gave me a real good square up a few years ago when I was coaching in Super Rugby and we were heading into the final.
“I said: ‘Boys, it’s going to be up there for a Test match,’ and he called me aside and he said: ‘Mate, no it’s not, it’s nothing like it.’ And now I understand what he meant.”
Pressure
Ryan discussed what the key difference was having now coached in Test rugby and that simply boiled down to the pressure they are under while representing the All Blacks.
“You’ve not got the expectation of a nation, so it’s not like a Test match, and that’s what is unique about Test match rugby. That’s the edge we’ll create as we head into our first one against England,” he added.
“I’m definitely excited about the physical contest and what Super Rugby has brought this year. I think the crowds have been right up, it’s been exciting, there’s been some good viewership by the sound of it, so I think everything’s trending in the right direction.”
