Richie McCaw admittedly pushes the envelope to the point that if he can safely break the law, then he thinks he has the right to do so. As he openly expressed in a recent interview featured in the Courier Mail, McCaw tests referees early “to know what you can get away with.”
Is this someone our children look up to? Are we teaching the youth of today that boundaries are there to be broken and as long as you don’t get caught it’s okay?
I fail to see the infatuation with a player and leader who prides himself on being able to play outside the laws of the game yet inside the sanctuary of the referee’s mood for the day.
McCaw is a rugby player with buckets of talent and great skill who plays his heart out week in week out. That is undeniable.
He has speed, vision and is hard as nails. A perfect combination for an all-rounded player. He shouldn’t need to resort to underhanded tactics to give his team an advantage come game day.
No player should.
So who’s getting it right? Obviously McCaw is, and to his credit. He could be christened a modern game genius. But the real question at heart is, are our professional referees strong enough to deal confidently with high profile personalities within the laws laid out by the IRB?
Rugby laws shouldn’t be open to interpretation and they shouldn’t be looked over or ignored. Grey areas should be limited to human error.
If one steals an item from the supermarket and gets away with it because one knows how to cheat the system, is it pure genius or an offence?
The answer is clear.
Are we now confined to a society where we praise an individual who self proclaims to constantly test the boundaries of the law of the game to see how much he can get away with? We should be celebrating players who play a hard, fair game with skill and talent. Not celebrate players who are naturally talented, yet buck the system.
The upcoming months and the lead up to the world cup will inevitably define many players, coaches and refs. With increasing technology and video analysis of rugby games there will be nowhere to hide for those who continually flaunt their indiscretions.
Unfortunately McCaw’s career will be defined by the outcome of the next world cup. Will he lead his troups to victory or a second dismal failure? So is Richie McCaw a genius or a cheat?
Well, to me, he’s a darn good rugby player!
Gavin Fernie
Guest
As a dispassionate South African rugby enthusiast who regularly spends time in New Zealand and Australia, I am fascinated at the emotive and differing opinions of Richie McCaw. One misguided idiot reverted to the lowest form of cowardice calling Mc Caw, 'McCheat". How low can you go? Has this individual ever played openside flank at a reasonable level? I would guess not, and if he has it would be illuminating to hear how he secured precious ball on the ground without skating close to the laws of our magical winter game. What is refreshing is that most objective rugby armchair experts rate McCaw as one of the best opensiders in the modern game. In real life McCaw(yes, I am prejudiced, having briefly met him in Christchurch) is the epitome of a down to earth, modern, professional sportsman, who is not only a superb practioner of his trade, but devotes a considerable amount of time and effort to promote the game of rugby in New Zealand at all levels. I am not aware of too many avid South African armchair experts who have even a fraction of the knowledge of NZ/ All Blacks rugby that many Kiwis I have met over the years have of our rugby scenario. In my experience, both the Ozzies and the Kiwis are far more gracious and objective about the respective good and bad points of the three Tri-Nations competitors than we South Africans generally tend to be. We are, to put it bluntly, shockingly bad losers , and classic whingers; must be our colonial blood. I know, I am digressing, but to sum up, one our leading Springbok flankers summed it up very neatly when he said;quote' We all live on the edge;it is our profession to secure vital ball by operating as close to the laws as allowed" Unquote ! How about the repetitive behaviour of a real miscreant operating beyond the spirit and the intent of the rugby laws; One Bakkies Botha. The sooner he disappears into the limbo of the lost, the greater the gain for rugby. Don't whitter and whinge about the McCaws of the rugby world, whilst tacit acceptance of the likes of Bully Boy Botha and Danny Grewcock are allowed to continue their mindless thuggery. As for the recent behaviour of one of our so called leading rugby talk show hosts, relating specifically to the recent Ti- Nations matches, it was pathetic to see a talk show host lose his objectivity on national television; my advice for him is go for counselling, and then watch and listen to Tony Johnson(last year when we were thumping the All Blacks, he never lost his objectivity and cool) That of course used to be termed CLASS. Funny old fashioned word. What we need as South African rugby ollowers is just a little injection of COOL, CLASS, and a COACH. Not too complicated.
Coxinator
Guest
Honestly, I rated George Smith higher considering they changed the rules because of his impact. Kronfeld showed the way then Smith perfected it. The "gate" meant a lot of times his advantage was gone. That said, McCaw made the gate and carries it with him. Only Pocock (or Braid maybe) is a close challenger at present.
MarkR
Guest
Hayden - A LOT of what McCaw does that's called cheating is just very good technique & I can watch that all day whether it's McCaw, Burger, Pocock, or that French winger who ran one of the best tries I've ever seen against the Abs last year. As for cheating, yes I don't like it, whether it's Gregan refusing to put the ball into the scrum, or a loosie off their feet competing for the ball. I just find it hilarious that the first Bledisloe game hasn't even been played & we've got this rubbish going on. I can understand the Bok supporters being up in arms, but didn't Australia win their TN game so far ?
darwin stubby
Guest
Alan who ... obviously the Lemon & Paeroa of Irish rugby
Derm
Roar Guru
Course I'm not. Quinlan gets in people's faces and does far more objectionable things than McCaw. And he's much funnier than old greyface when he does it.
ThelmaWrites
Guest
If I were Rodney or Jerry, I'd take that as an insult. :-)
Dan
Guest
Sad that someone who has two sons can be this naive. Scientific research and common sense tells you that this is not the case.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
I think McCaw gets all the attention because he's such a good looking guy. I mean, Rodney and Jerry used to cheat all the time and now Kieran Read does and they never get articles written about them. Richie is such a stud.
Hayden
Guest
Nice concise, well thought and well argued position Melly. Kindergarten closed today?
Hayden
Guest
Do you support George Smith's cheating? Or Pococks?
Hayden
Guest
The rules in rugby have always been open to interpretation. Name me a team sport where they aren't.
Hayden
Guest
Sorry mate, but I would bet my house on the probability that were McCaw a Saffer, Shauny would never have contemplated writing this article. He'd be lauding him, quite rightly, as the best player in the world by a country mile. It is a shame some guys don't get as worked up over the real blights on the game.
Sylvester
Guest
"Except of course sometimes he gets it wrong and gets penalised." I think this statement is spot on, if we replace your "intentionally breaks the laws the disadvantage the opposition" with my "genuinely attempts to win turnovers through legitimate means".
Peter K
Guest
There is a difference. You dont go out to intentionally knock on. McCaw intentional breaks the laws the disadvantage the opposition but either making sure the ref doesnt see or having worked out the ref is lenient on that infringement. Except of course sometimes he gets it wrong and gets penalised.
Sylvester
Guest
Anyone who knocks-on, but keeps playing when the ref doesn't blow the whistle is a cheat right?
Sylvester
Guest
Spencer, McCaw made his test debut in 2001, but didn't take over as full time captain until 2006. I don't recall him getting binned too often in those first five seasons despite having built his reputation substantially in that time. For that reason, I don't think the "reluctant to banish the captain" argument stacks up.
Winston
Guest
Hers' a few facts about the man that you might find interesting and could shed some light on this discussion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsOuBdkSL8U
Winston
Guest
your kidding right? Those are some thick yellow glasses you have.
Jackson
Guest
I always liked it when the mighty Phil Waugh in his prime came up against Richie. He regularly dominated him, despite being over 10 cm shorter. He always plays out of his skin when he plays Richie, 110% effort and appeared not to cheat although Im not so versed in the dark arts of the ruck!!! Would love to see him out there on Saturday night!
Geoff
Guest
And your point is....I mean how does this comment relate to the article???