Adam Whitelock (born 17 April 1987) is a former New Zealand

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who played as a midfield back or

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

. He previously played for the Crusaders in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in the

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Tekn ...

. and

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. Whitelock also played for the All Blacks Sevens team.

Biography

Adam is the son of a former Junior All Black, Braeden Whitelock, and the grandson of

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

Nelson Dalzell George Nelson Dalzell (26 April 1921 – 30 April 1989) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A lock, Dalzell represented Canterbury at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks The New Zealand ...

. He has three brothers

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

George Whitelock George Braeden Whitelock (born 27 March 1986) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played for the Crusaders in the Super Rugby competition and Canterbury in the Air New Zealand Cup. He played as a flanker. Biography George is the son ...

Sam Whitelock Samuel Lawrence Whitelock (born 12 October 1988) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a lock for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. Whitelock has captained the Crusaders, and New Zealand in five interna ...

and

Luke Whitelock Luke Charles Whitelock (born 29 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a loose forward for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the in the international Super Rugby competition. Whitelock has Captained ...

. Despite never playing for the

Adam was the only brother to play for the All Blacks Sevens team. Notably he was also the only brother to play in the backs. All four Whitelock boys were educated in Fielding and played their junior rugby for Palmerston North High School Old Boys' Rugby Football Club. In his early days Adam was identified as a talented middle distance runner. Adam was the first of the brothers to move to Christchurch, moving to study accounting at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

in 2006. Former Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder commenting on Whitelock's well renowned professionalism and work ethic stated that "Adam is one of the hardest workers in this team. He is consistently the fittest member of the squad but still strives to become better every year."

Career

Provincial

Whitelock debuted for the

team in 2008 as a 22 year old against

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

. He would go onto play 56 games for Canterbury playing a staple role in the team. Despite being in the reserves in the final of the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup (now Mitre 10 Cup), Whitelock and the Canterbury team would go on to win the title for the next 5 years setting a new precedent in NPC history.

Super Rugby

Whitelock made his Crusaders debut against the Brumbies in 2009. His first try for the Crusaders was a crucial try from a brilliant pass from

Leon MacDonald Leon Raymond MacDonald (born 21 December 1977) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer, and now head coach for the Auckland Blues rugby team, who played 56 tests for the national team, the All Blacks. He played as a first five-eighth (f ...

which led to the Crusaders overcoming the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also ...

11-7. In a remarkable occasion in professional sport teams all four Whitelock brothers played together for the first time in a competitive match in March 2013 (vs.

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine *Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

). Other than a preseason match at the beginning of the previous season this was the first time playing together since playing for Fielding High School in 2003. The brothers would play a further 17 games together at their time with the Crusaders.

All Blacks Sevens

In 2014 Whitelock was called into the All Blacks Sevens after receiving high praise in regards to his fitness from coach Sir Gordon Tietjens.

Overseas

Whitelock announced in 2014 that he was leaving New Zealand to take up a contract in France with Aviron Bayonnais.

References

External links

Adam Whitelock itsrugby.co.uk Player Statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelock, Adam Living people 1987 births Rugby union players from Palmerston North New Zealand rugby union players Crusaders (rugby union) players Canterbury rugby union players Aviron Bayonnais players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Male rugby sevens players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand international rugby sevens players People educated at Feilding High School Dalzell-Whitelock family