Top 14: “I need to take on different challenges”, the first words of Sam Whitelock in Pau

All Blacks legend with 153 caps and a rich record of two World Cups, second row Sam Whitelock took his first steps in Pau with the desire to “take on different challenges”, he declared on Thursday.

“I'm at a point in my career where I need different challenges,” Whitelock, 35, explained. “I have a lot of experience to share,” added the player, showing his wish to have “an impact on the players and management”. Sam Whitelock recognized that his brother Luke (32 years old, 7 caps), current captain of the Pau Section, had played a driving role in his arrival in Béarn “by spreading seeds to bring (him) over for several years”.

Before his arrival, the 2.03 m giant also spoke with other compatriots who had passed through the Section (Conrad Smith, Colin Slade, Jamie Mackintosh) who convinced him: “In the end, it was a decision very easy,” he assured, saying he was impatient to discover “a new culture, another language, a new style of life.” “We chose it with my wife and my children, we want to take advantage of it.”

“In New Zealand, we have people who are passionate about sport, but here it's another level, it makes you want to be on the field to enjoy it,” continued Sam Whitelock, who declared surprised by the excitement surrounding his arrival and “the passion for rugby of the people he has met over the past two days, who congratulate (him) in the street in French and English”.

“The first thing I have to do is refine the way I play. I can't pass on knowledge if I don't play at a level that is expected of me. I have to play well and then things will come together,” he added. In good shape according to the first physical tests he passed a month after the World Cup final lost 12-11 by the Blacks against South Africa, Whitelock should begin his Pau career by the end of the year. year, according to his new manager Sébastien Piqueronies.

“We will find the right balance between the merit that Sam must have to join the team because she has had a very good start to the season (...) and the best time to incorporate her into the dynamic of the team. This best moment will, I think, be in 2023,” confided the technician. Whitelock will not be traveling to Toulon on Saturday in the Top 14, nor to South Africa with the group of 28 players who leave Monday for the Challenge Cup. “There is a substantial staff who remains here at the (training) center with quite a few players regenerating for around a week. It will be a fabulous opportunity for Sam to immerse himself in the game project with a coach who will stay here with certain senior players who will accompany him,” added Piqueronies