Wash our boots

Sam Whitelock’s the third of four brothers. And, like many families, four brothers means a lot of hand-me-downs.

In the Whitelock household, rugby boots were passed one brother to the next. The boots had long lives, and they needed looking after.

Sam recalls, “Mum was awesome with us. She used to make us wash our boots before every game.”

“So every Friday night we'd get them out, scrub them down. Take all the laces out. Make sure they were clean. And then we'd re-lace the boots, put newspaper in them, dry them.”

“That's what we did every Friday night and that's something I still do now as a professional player. I've always cleaned my boots the night before the game.”

“I know a lot of professional players don't do that anymore.”

“And I know we play on different fields, now. Sometimes your boots are clean. But even if it just takes you 30 seconds, it’s actually a really nice moment for me to stop and reflect on who's helped me get to where I am.”

“It’s something that I'll do to the day or retire and something that I need to make sure my kids do as well.”