Sam Whitelock

This will be his fourth World Cup and then off to place in France. 179 games for the Crusaders, incredible. 

He has been quite the servant of All Black rugby. He had the better of Eben in the first test last year. He can still do a job. The locks are such an integral part to the All Black blueprint , they really need to find a next-gen pair that can fill the void. 

Yes and who they picking at fly-half?

Don't see a Dan Carter in their ranks, Mo -unga? He reckons New Zealand will need to change their policy in the future in being able to select overseas based players. 

Don't see a DC in any international  team, once in a life time player.

Guys like him aren't  a dime a dozen you know.

Grant Fox was very good.,remember him. All Black's won the 87' World Cup with him. 

Good player but nowhere near the league of DC.

Not sure if this is actually true but read somewhere Grant Fox was asked about DC passing his AB's record and he replied yeah but he cheated he scored tries (Fox only scored one try for the ABs)

One thing you can say about Fox is he has a sense of humour.

At scrumhalf Aaron Smith has played forever too,yet

I don't think he's as fast as he was in 2015 at the World Cup 

Him vs Du Pont in the opening game should be a thriller.

Sam has been a thorn in the SA sides for many years. Will never forget his one handed off load near the touch line to put one of the the NZ wingers for a try. Showed how effective a skilful forward can be and that it is no always about brute force and trying run down the barn door which our forwards are so happy to do. 

I liked how he stayed on his feet, use one are to fend or hold tacklers and using those long levers to pass the ball. 

RG is the only SA lock thar can do that. 

Fantastic servant to the game. 

The All Blacks are always said to be a great backline team, but it's the forwards that are integral to the back's success. The locks must be tough, athletic, and skillful. They have got to read play. They have 4 man pods that operate like a separate midfield. Now imagine a 2-4-2 forward split, dominating the middle of the field, and then the backs slotting into that shape. That's been the power of All Black rugby, and it was the same blueprint at the Crusaders as well, passed down from one coach to the next. Without all round locks, the All Blacks struggle, and not because of the line out. It's much more than that.