Richie McCaw Biography

Richard McCaw, popularly known as ‘Richie’ is recognized as the world’s best openside flanker and captain of the All Blacks. He was brought up in North Otago and educated at Otago Boys High, where he played rugby at No 8. His record as a player and as a captain is admirable. He became the first All Black to reach 100 Tests in 2011 and by the end of the 2014 season, he had played 137 Tests (coming off the bench just six times), and was Captain in 100 Tests. McCaw reminded the world of his brilliance as a leader when he lifted the Webb Ellis Cup to claim rugby’s greatest prize in 2011, while he was battling a troubling foot injury. In 2012, he missed the early stages of Investec Super Rugby due to the treatment of his injury, but rejoined his Crusaders teammates and led the way to victory with the ball in hand. When he isn’t leading the team, McCaw is a keen pilot and in 2009 was made an honorary squadron leader of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The statistics during McCaw's career speak for itself. He is the most capped All Black ever (103), has tasted victory 84 times in 95 Tests at an amazing 88 percent success rate; the most by any other All Black. He also captained the All Blacks to 51 victories in 58 Tests, was the IRB Player of the Year a record of three times (2006, 2009, 2010). At age 23, McCaw was named All Blacks captain for the first time for the Test against Wales in 2004. Described as a tireless worker who reads the game well, McCaw was voted by the International Rugby Players Association in 2002 as Newcomer of the Year. He had an outstanding 2003 Rugby World Cup and won the New Zealand player of the year award at the 2003 (and 2006) Steinlager Rugby Awards. In 2004, McCaw led Canterbury to the NPC title and then took the Crusaders back-to-back to Super Rugby titles in 2005 and 2006 before assuming command of the national team. He was awarded the IRB Player of the Year award in 2006 for being a finalist in both the International Rugby Players' Association and IRB awards in 2003 and again for the IRB in 2005. In 2008, McCaw would rebound from the disappointment of the World Cup to again lead the Crusaders to Super Rugby success, and then came back from injury early in the test season to lead the All Blacks to another Investec Tri Nations title and a Grand Slam of the Home Nations. The following year he returned from injury for the Tri Nations and was prominent in matches against the Wallabies and again at the end of year tour, where he got his second IRB World Player of the Year title. In 2010, McCaw was outstanding despite the new law interpretations which many believed would curtail the influence of the mercurial openside. He led the All Blacks to 13 victories in 14 Tests, and again achieving the Grand Slam with the team winning the Tri Nations.

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