Kiwi immortality beckons for the mighty McCaw
In the annals of this rugby-mad land, he is exceptional, a stand-out figure. That tells you a lot about Richie McCaw. The All Blacks captain will attain immortality in New Zealand tomorrow when he wins his 100th cap against France, when he will be leading the side for the 64th time.
No-one has ever won 100 caps for New Zealand and to supersede, never mind sail past, the achievements of legends like Colin Meads, Don Clarke and Wilson Whineray takes a bit of doing.
McCaw has done it in his own inimitable way. Nothing matters to him more than the team, the concept of one for all. For 99 Tests, he has sacrificed himself and his body for the collective.
His coach Graham Henry calls him "an inspirational person." McCaw shrugs off such platitudes, as he would a half-hearted tackle from an opponent. He prefers to do his talking out on the paddock among the company of his mates. There, he is at his happiest.
Brought up on a farm in Otago in the heart of South Island, McCaw understood from an early age that contributing to a collective effort was what counted in life.
Tana Umaga was New Zealand's captain when McCaw made his Test debut against Ireland in 2001 after playing only eight minutes of Super 14 rugby that season. He recalls being shocked at one of his first experiences of McCaw.
"He was a young man, very inexperienced. And when you are in that position as an All Black, the easiest thing to do, the thing that most people do, is keep quiet, say nothing unless spoken to and quietly learn from others," said Umaga.
"But Richie wasn't like that. He came up to me at one point and said that he was very concerned that some of the senior players were not behaving in the manner of All Blacks. He was aware of the responsibilities that went with that position and he had seen some things he didn't like and felt should be corrected.
"I was astonished by it, but I quickly began to realise that he was already something exceptional."
Snitching on your mates, especially senior ones, when you had only played a handful of games for Canter-bury?
That marked McCaw out from the very start as a different kind of rugby man.
Indeed, his selection for that tour brought a furious, sarcastic response from another former All Black openside flanker, Josh Kronfeld. "You might as well just give the All Black jerseys to everybody," he said disparagingly in a comment aimed at McCaw.
"The fact they picked guys off one NPC season is bloody incredible."
But All Blacks coach John Mitchell, who chose McCaw, clearly had greater vision than Kronfeld. McCaw was voted Man of the Match in the 40-29 victory at Lansdowne Road.
He has never looked back since. Today, at the age of 30, he is regarded as the most effective openside in the game, a player who seems able to read referees like a book and profit accordingly.
Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has called him "a cheat" and Victor Matfield says: "Referees let him get away with murder at the breakdown."
McCaw (pictured below) first captained New Zealand at the age of 25, yet it has not all been a road of gold and glory.
Heartache
He led them to World Cup heartache in 2007 with the defeat by France and was forced to admit: "We will be thinking about it for a long time.
"The big matches is where you have got to play, everyone has got to stand up. Perhaps, as a team today, we were the second best team."
Only New Zealanders would truly understand how painful it was for Richie McCaw to utter those words.
Three times voted IRB Player of the Year, McCaw, together with Dan Carter, is the core element of this New Zealand side.
Of course, he enjoys a handsome reward for his excellence on the field. His contract with the NZRU is said to be worth €435,000 a season and he has just signed a new four-year deal.
Add to that, advertising and sponsorship deals, which would amount to at least the same again, and you have a very valuable financial package.
But McCaw would probably give it all away to win this World Cup. In the world of his own impeccably high standards, he continues to feel remorse at the All Blacks' failure under his captaincy in 2007.
The idea of leading another beaten New Zealand side at a World Cup is anathema to so proud an All Black.
New Zealand -- I Dagg, C Jane, C Smith, M Nonu, R Kahui; D Carter, P Weepu; A Thomson, R McCaw (capt), J Kaino, S Whitelock, B Thorn, O Franks, K Mealamu, T Woodcock. Reps: A Hore, B Franks, A Williams, A Boric, A Ellis, CSlade, S Bill Williams.
France -- D Traille; V Clerc, A Rougerie, M Mermoz, M Medard; M Parra, D Yachvili; JB Poux, D Szarzewski, L Ducalcon, P Pape, L Nallet, T Dusautoir (capt), J Bonnaire, L Picamoles. Reps: W Servat, F Barcella, J Pierre, I Harinordoquy, F Trinh-Duc, F Estebanez, C Heymans.
- Peter Bills , in Auckland
Irish Independent
