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Richard McCaw, or ‘Richie’ as he is widely known, is a key figure for the All Blacks and is generally recognised as the world’s best openside flanker.
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McCaw has the size and strength to be a punishing defender, the cool head and quick hands required to master the breakdown area, and the speed and handling skills to play a traditional tearaway’s linking role to superb effect.
The statistics on McCaw's career speak for themselves (to end of 2011 season):
• Together with team-mate Mils Muliaina, he is the most capped All Black ever (95).
• He has tasted victory 84 times in those 95 Tests for an amazing 88 percent success rate - the most by any other All Black.
• He has captained the All Blacks to 51 victories in 58 Tests.
• He has been IRB Player of the Year a record three times (2006, 2009, 2010)
McCaw was named as All Blacks captain for the first time for the Test against Wales in 2004 aged just 23.
He was brought up in North Otago and educated at Otago Boys High, where he played his rugby at No 8.
A tireless worker who reads the game well, McCaw was voted as Newcomer of the Year by the International Rugby Players Association in 2002.
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.
McCaw led Canterbury to the NPC title in 2004 and then took the Crusaders to back-to-back 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 after 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 on the end of year tour, getting his second IRB World Player of the Year title.
In 2010, McCaw was again outstanding despite the new law interpretations which many believed would curtail the influence of the mercurial openside.
He lead the All Blacks to 13 victories in 14 Tests, with the team winning the Tri Nations and again achieving the Grand Slam.
• Received the IRB Newcomer of the Year Award in 2001.
• Air New Zealand NPC Division One Player of the Year, 2004 & 2002
• Kelvin Tremain Memorial Trophy for Player of the Year, 2003, 2006
• Under 21 Player of the Year, 2001
• Scored the All Blacks' first two tries of Rugby World Cup 2007, against Italy at Marseille.
• Received the 2006 IRB and NZRU Player of the Year Awards.
• Was the only All Blacks player to play in all seven of the team’s winter Tests in 2007 and the only All Black to start in 12 Tests in 2006.
• Is the 60th All Blacks Test captain. Named as All Blacks captain for the first time against Wales in 2004 at the age of just 23.
All Blacks in
2001–2011
New Zealand Under 19 in 1999
New Zealand Under 21 in 2000, 2001
New Zealand Under 19 in 1999
New Zealand Under 21 in 2000, 2001
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Test match Record by
Year: (+) = substitute (-) = replaced (+) = substitute; (-) = replaced 2001 Nov 17 v Ireland at Dublin 40-29 Nov 24 v Scotland at Edinburgh 37-6 Dec 1 v Argentina at Buenos Aires 24-20 2002 Jun 15 v Ireland at Dunedin 15-6 Jun 22 v Ireland at Auckland 40-8 (-) Jul 13 v Australia at Christchurch 12-6 Jul 20 v South Africa at Wellington 41-20 (-) Aug 3 v Australia at Sydney 14-16 Aug 10 v South Africa at Durban 30-23 2003 Jun 14 v England at Wellington 13-15 Jun 28 v France at Christchurch 31-23 Jul 19 v South Africa at Pretoria 52-16 (-) Jul 26 v Australia at Sydney 50-21 (-) Aug 16 v Australia at Auckland 21-17 Oct 11 v Italy at Melbourne 70-7 (-) Oct 17 v Canada at Melbourne 68-6 (+) Oct 24 v Tonga at Brisbane 91-7 (+) Nov 2 v Wales at Sydney 53-37 Nov 8 v South Africa at Melbourne 29-9 (-) Nov 15 v Australia at Sydney 10-22 Nov 20 v France at Sydney 40-13 2004 Jun 12 v England at Dunedin 36-3 (-) Jun 26 v Argentina at Hamilton 41-7 (-) Nov 13 v Italy at Rome 59-10 Nov 20 v Wales at Cardiff 26-25 Nov 27 v France at Paris 45-6 2005 Jun 10 v Fiji at Albany 91-0 (-) Jun 25 v British & Irish Lions at Christchurch 21-3 Jul 2 v British & Irish Lions at Wellington 48-18 Aug 7 v South Africa at Cape Town 16-22 Aug 13 v Australia at Sydney 30-13 Aug 27 v South Africa at Dunedin 31-27 Sep 3 v Australia at Auckland 34-24 Nov 5 v Wales at Cardiff 41-3 (+) Nov 12 v Ireland at Dublin 45-7 (-) Nov 26 v Scotland at Edinburgh 29-10 (-) 2006 Jun 10 v Ireland at Hamilton 34-23 Jun 17 v Ireland at Auckland 27-17 Jul 8 v Australia at Christchurch 32-12 Jul 22 v South Africa at Wellington 35-17 (-) Jul 29 v Australia at Brisbane 13-9 Aug 19 v Australia at Auckland 34-27 Aug 26 v South Africa at Pretoria 45-26 Sep 2 v South Africa at Rustenberg 20-21 Nov 5 v England at London 41-20 Nov 12 v France at Lyon 47-3 (-) Nov 19 v France at Paris 23-11 Nov 26 v Wales at Cardiff 45-10 2007 2 Jun v France at Auckland 42-11 (-) 9 Jun v France at Wellington 61-10 (-) 16 Jun v Canada at Hamilton 64-13 (+) 23 June v South Africa at Durban 26-21 30 June v Australia at Melbourne 15-20 14 July v South Africa at Christchurch 33-6 21 July v Australia at Auckland 26-12 8 Sept v Italy (RWC) at Marseille 76-14 (-) 23 Sep v Scotland at Edinburgh 40-0 (-) 30 Sept v Romania (RWC) at Toulouse 85-8 (+) 7 Sept v France (RWC) at Cardiff 18-20 2008 7 June v Ireland at Wellington 21-11 14 Jun v England at Auckland 37-20 21 Jun v England at Christchurch 44-12 (-) 2 Aug v Australia at Auckland 39-10 17 Aug v South Africa at Capetown 19-0 13 Sept v Australia at Brisbane 28-24 1 Nov v Australia at Hong Kong 19-14 9 Nov v Scotland at Edinburgh 32-6 (+) 16 Nov v Ireland at Dublin 22-3 23 Nov v Wales at Cardiff 29-9 30 Nov v England at London 32-6 2009 18 July v Australia at Auckland 22-16 26 July v South Africa at Bloemfontain 19-28 2 Aug v South Africa at Durban 19-31 22 Aug v Australia at Sydney 19-18 12 Sept v South Africa at Hamilton 29-32 19 Sept v Australia at Wellington 33-6 31 Oct v Australia at Tokyo 32-19 8 Nov v Wales at Cardiff 19-12 22 Nov v England at London 19-6 29 Nov v France at Marseilles 39-12 6 Dec v Barbarians at London 18-25 (-) 2010 12 June v Ireland at New Plymouth 66-28 19 June v Wales at Dunedin 42-9 26 Jun v Wales at Hamilton 29-10 10 July v South Africa at Auckland 32-12 17 July v South Africa at Wellington 31-17 (-) 31 July v Australia at Melbourne 49-28 7 Aug v Australia at Christchurch 20-10 22 Aug v South Africa at Johannesburg 29-22 11 Sept v Australia at Sydney 23-22 30 Oct v Australia at Hong Kong 24-26 07 Nov v England at London 26-16 14 Nov v Scotland at Edinburgh 49-3 (-) 2011 22 July v Fiji at Dunedin 60-14 30 July v South Africa at Wellington 40-7 6 Aug v Australia at Auckland 30-14 27 Aug v Australia at Brisbane 20-25 9 Sept v Tonga (RWC) at Auckland 41-10 24 Sep v France (RWC) at Auckland 37-17 10 Oct v Argentina (RWC) at Auckland 33-10 (-) 16 Oct v Australia (RWC) at Auckland 20-6 23 Oct v France (RWC final) at Auckland 8-7 |
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