Whitelock missed the test against Japan during the 2018 end-of-year tests , with selectors saving the last of Whitelock 's energy for tests against England and Ireland . Whitelock 's outstanding performance , on the 10th November , against England , saw the All Blacks beat England 16-15 , before losing to Ireland , 9-16 , the following week . Whitelock did not play in the final test for the year , against Italy , and went home early in order to rest after a long year , involving over 1900 minutes of rugby played . After an extended off-season , Whitelock returned to lead the Crusaders for the 2019 Super Rugby season in round 6 of the competition , having been named to lead them against the New South Wales Waratahs . This was following the Christchurch mosque shootings , which had caused the cancellation of a fixture against the Highlanders
Christchurch mosque shootings
Christchurch mosque shootings
Sam Whitelock