All Blacks captain Sam Whitelock has paid tribute to teammate Aaron Smith, as the halfback prepares to play his 100th test match in Saturday's Bledisloe Cup opener at Eden Park.
Smith, 32, will become the 10th All Black to reach the milestone of 100 tests when he steps foot on Eden Park on Saturday, as well as becoming the first Kiwi halfback to reach the mark.
With 125 caps to his name, Whitelock knows what the century milestone means, having played most of his tests alongside Smith.
"I've known Nuggie a long time," Whitelock says.
"[He's had] a pretty awesome career. He's an outstanding player, and he's been an outstanding player for a long time.
"People don't see the hard work that goes in behind the scenes. He's a guy that's always writing things down, putting a plan together, and making sure that everything he's doing is for the betterment of the team.
"It's pretty cool to see him reach that milestone tomorrow."
Whitelock and Smith are no strangers. Aside from their time together in the All Blacks, the pair also shared a classroom growing up, in the same year level at Feilding High School, Whitelock tells.
"[We've] known each other since we were 13. I still remember it really clearly, [the] first day of school, walking across the school grounds.
"[There was] a little, short Māori boy yelling out at me going 'bro, are you coming here?' [I was] dressed in the school uniform, so it was pretty obvious that I was going to Feilding.
"We were in the same group class, and the relationship, friendship just grew from them.
"[It's] pretty cool that both of us have gone down different pathways, but we're both here together. [It's] pretty humbling for ourselves, but also the school and the community.
Whitelock also paid tribute to Smith's mindset, one of the All Blacks' most notorious trainers since his debut in 2012.
And the All Blacks' captain says that Smith's training dates all the way back to his schoolboy days.
"[He's] never been the biggest of men, but [his] hard work is something that's always come through.
"I don't know how many balls he wore out just throwing them at the concrete wall at school and at his house.
"It just shows that if you have a dream and you want to do it, you can go out and do it."
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