A special way to end a sensational career
Sam Whitelock in action with Pau in the last championship race – ph. GAIZKA IROZ / AFP
The regular season of the Top 14 ended on Saturday 8 June and, at the same time, the glorious, monumental career of Sam Whitelock, second row of the All Blacks and the Crusaders for life, ended his playing days in Pau.
An exceptional way to end on a high note, with a goal in the last minute of his last match.
Opposed to Pietro Ceccarelli’s Perpignan, Pau was able to control the match right from the start, supported by the warm crowd at the Stade du Hameau. However, Perpignan didn’t give up and in the final minutes they went up to -7.
The match, however, ended with a final attack from the home team, with Sam Whitelock diving into the right corner after some breakthrough attempts from his teammates, in a blaze of joy and emotion on his part and on the whole stadium.
Read also: The Top 14 has never had so much audience
Sam Whitelock will turn 36 in October. In his sensational personal palmares there are 7 consecutive Super Rugby titles (from 2017 to 2023), with two player of the match in the 2022 and 2023 finals, two Rugby World Cups and 11 Rugby Championships (some won when it was still called TriNations).
He was captain of the All Blacks 18 times, with whom he obtained a total of 153 caps, making him the second player ever in terms of number of international appearances. At club level, in addition to 13 years in the Crusaders shirt, he also represented the Japanese Panasonic Wild Knights in 2020 and Pau during this season, where he joined his brother Luke, in France since 2019.
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