Whitelock grounded

Sam Whitelock won’t front for Canterbury this week, but there’s hope the grounded All Black will play for the red and blacks before rejoining the national side.

All Blacks orders prevented Canterbury co-coach Reuben Thorne from naming Whitelock in his side to face Southland in Invercargill today, despite the veteran training with them this week.

Whitelock hasn’t played since the All Blacks belted the Wallabies in Auckland almost six weeks ago, having remained in Christchurch for the birth of his latest baby.

He’s expected to remain with Canterbury for another fortnight, before rejoining the All Blacks for their northern tour, which kicks off with a test against the USA in Washington on October 23.

Canterbury have a Covid-19 enforced bye next week, but Thorne is hopeful he will be available to play Wellington in the capital on October 8.

‘‘That’s [his non-selection] been driven from the All Blacks. They want him to get back in here and get a bit of contact training. He’s been great in our environment, just helping out, he’s got a lot of wisdom that he’s imparting with the younger players, just has a real good presence around the team,’’ Thorne said.

■ Waikato buried the anguish of last week’s one-point loss to Canterbury with a drought-breaking 39-22 win against the reigning champion Tasman Mako in Nelson last night.

The Mooloos didn’t just snap a seven-match losing streak against the Mako, they recorded their first away win against Tasman in 14 years.