Imminent All Blacks centurion Sam Whitelock has turned at least one former hater into an admirer.
The 29-year-old second row is set to win his 100th cap in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship match against Australia in Sydney.
Whitelock has been on the losing side just four times in 22 Bledisloe contests and his hard-nosed approach means people relish playing alongside him, but not when they are on the opposing team.
"I played a lot of footy against him before I was in this (All Blacks) environment, I hated him," halfback TJ Perenara said.
"On the field I thought 'man, I hate this dude,' but then getting into the environment and getting to know him, his work ethic, his love for the game.
"His ability to just flick a switch and be in this killer mindset out on the field.
"It's something that you want to be a part of and is something that you want on your team.
"It's hard to play against and it's something that can grind your gears when you're playing against him.
"But for someone to have that mindset and just to not care about what's in his way each and every time he gets between those lines, it only brings everyone else up.
"It's been awesome for me to learn that part of him and to embrace it and to be alongside him."
Asked how Whitelock was able to grind his gears, Perenara said: "Every time I passed it, he just cleaned me out and hold me down on the ground."
Perenara has also found himself at odds with Wallabies star Israel Folau over that player's stance on homosexuality.
Back in April, Perenara posted on Twitter that he was "100% against the comments that were made by Israel."
While Saturday's game is Perenara's priority he didn't rule out the possibility of one day talking to Folau about their contrasting views.
"If we ever cross paths outside of the game and stuff like that, then sure we can sit down and have a yarn," Perenara said.
"But at this point in time my sole focus is on winning a Test match."
Share
