Ian Foster reveals why Sam Whitelock is currently considered the back-up lock

All Blacks boss Ian Foster has given the reason as to why one of their great locks, Sam Whitelock, has been forced to make do with a place on the bench.

New Zealand’s boss has decided not to reunite Brodie Retallick and Whitelock in the second-row, instead rewarding Scott Barrett for his good performances.

Foster also wants to ease the 34-year-old back, having missed the start of the Rugby Championship due to injury.

Combinations

”He’s been out a while, and it’s a chance for him to come back via the bench,” Foster told reporters.

“We felt we got some nice combinations going in the last Test (the 35-20 victory over the Boks), and it’s a chance to keep growing that.

“Sam’s introduction via the bench is a different role for him, but it’s great to have his experience to inject at some point.”

The All Blacks certainly don’t lose anything by keeping Retallick and Barrett in tandem following their impressive performance against South Africa in the previous round of the competition.

“They are two quality locks,” Foster said. “They do their core roles well. If you look back to their last Test, they dealt with a big, physical South African pack around the park, with their carry/clean at a pretty high standard. Their challenge is to keep doing that.”

Whitelock is not regarded as an impact player, but Foster believes that he can still do an excellent job from the bench.

“It’s his repertoire for this week,” the head coach said. “That’s as far as we’re looking. I know everyone is intrigued with the locks, and it’s a great situation to be in.

“We’ve had Josh Lord play really well against Argentina, Tupou [Vaa’i] came off the bench effectively twice and now we’ve got Sam coming back.

“There’s no doubt about his class and experience. He’s been used to starting, so this is a different challenge. We’ll assess that and see how we go, but there’s plenty of rugby ahead.”

Opportunity for Hurricanes scrum-half

New Zealand have made one enforced change to the starting line-up for the Australia Test, with Dalton Papalii coming in for the injured Sam Cane.

Ardie Savea therefore takes over the captaincy while Luke Jacobson has been added to the bench as back-row cover.

It is among the replacements where the excitement resides, with Cam Roigard set to make his debut after starring for the Hurricanes in Super Rugby Pacific this season.

“Through Super Rugby, we all saw his (Roigard’s) growth. He likes to attack the edges, he’s got a good kicking game and a pretty consistent pass, and he’s been really focused on how he fits that into the plan,” Foster added.

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