Sam Cane Named As All Blacks Captain

The All Blacks have named a new captain after the retirement of Kieran Read.

Sam Cane Named As All Blacks Captain

All Blacks and Chiefs flanker Sam Cane has been named as the new All Blacks captain.

Cane made his debut for the national team back in 2012 at the age of 20, and he has earned 68 caps, 48 of which he has started.

The Beginning: Cane making his All Blacks debut against Ireland in 2012 (Getty Images)

All Blacks coach Ian Foster said of the appointment;

“Sam is an experienced All Black with eight years in the team now and is a ‘follow me’ type of leader and a very good thinker in the game.  He has a natural ability to connect with everyone in the team and is straightforward and direct when he needs to be.

“There’s massive respect for Sam amongst the players and management, and he’s perfectly placed to lead the All Blacks into the future.”

Foster acknowledged that they wanted to name the new captain now especially with the Covid-19 pandemic still ongoing.

“We wanted to confirm Sam now because he’ll play a key role helping us plan for whatever the future looks like and will be working behind the scenes with the other leaders,” Foster said.

First Time: Cane captained the All Blacks for the first time against Namibia in 2015 (Getty Images)

Cane, who has captained the team on three occasions before, said;

“It’s a pretty exciting challenge really and as I’ve spent more time in the All Blacks and grown as a player, I’ve become a lot more comfortable being a leader in the team.

“The great thing about the All Blacks is that the leadership group is full of captains and experienced players already, so I’m just really looking forward to working closely with that group and doing my best to lead them and the rest of the squad.”

“My style as captain will be to not really change the way I do things.  I’m just myself and will continue to be.  I already work on building relationships, especially with the younger guys in the squad, and everyone else connected with the team, so that will continue,” Cane added.

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