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It’s perhaps indicative of the wonder of the achievements that have already been compiled by Richard Hugh McCaw that this weekend’s milestone of his 100th Test as captain of the world’s most renowned team almost feels run of the mill.
Another day, another All Black Test. Oh, it’s Wales this week? Ok, I might get up and watch that – if I can be bothered.
Certainly the lack of fanfare could be considered appropriate for one so humble, but the fact remains that to lead one’s country – let alone the game’s most iconic team – 100 times, is a feat that would have been considered implausible not so long ago.
New Zealanders love humility.
That’s one of the reasons – aside from the fact that he has shown himself to be such a fine player, and an even better leader – why the farmer’s son from the Hakataramea Valley in North Otago, has achieved legendary status in his homeland.
There are still 986 years remaining of this millenium but even at this early stage, the most capped All Black skipper in history would have to be a fair shot at the New Zealander of the Millenium, if they are still giving out such an award in the year 3000 of course!
Sporting achievement plays an essential part in a nation’s wellbeing, in its sense of identity, its feeling of international credibility if you like.
As a small country, New Zealand holds to that notion more tightly than most.
It’s why the All Blacks are so important, why elections have been won or lost on the back of their World Cup results and why the country nearly tore itself apart over an apartheid-era Springbok tour not so long ago.
In McCaw, we found a leader and a role model for the whole nation to admire.
Yet the man himself has remained a private figure out of his All Black kit, largely unassuming, the ‘anti Shane Warne’ if you like!
He hasn’t lived on the farm for in excess of two decades, having quickly found his way into professional rugby after five years boarding at Otago Boys High School, but the wholesome country values taught by father Don and mother Margaret have remained largely intact.
The money and the public worship has not changed him.
I first met Richie in the Kurow pub the year after he had left High School.
I’d been taught by Margaret at the local area school, before she’d married, and had long left the district by the time his rugby prowess became apparent.
He was, and is, good mates with my cousin, who’d shared his class at Kurow Area School, before likewise boarding in Dunedin.
It was this that provided our introduction before our paths intertwined again with both the All Blacks and the Crusaders, and then on opposite sides during my time as media manager of the Wallabies.
From the off, there was a genuineness about McCaw that has never changed.
Through their careers, top athletes will meet thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of people, all fans, all seeking both the briefest moment with and acknowledgement from, the individual concerned.
This interaction has always been something the All Black captain has been good at. But then it’s been easy for him: it’s the way he was brought up, the way he is naturally.
The origin of his sporting prowess was more of a mystery.
Neither of his parents participated in sport to any high level.
The closest claims among his wider family came from Margaret’s brother John McLay, a No 8 who played for second tier province Mid-Canterbury, against the British Lions (as they were known then) during their 1983 tour of the country.
His younger sister Jo subsequently achieved success in her own right in the sporting sphere by making the Canterbury netball side.
That Richie was bound for big things was never in doubt, however, from the moment he arrived in the incredible rugby nursery that is the Canterbury and Crusaders development system.
The former captain of the Otago Boys High School first XV had missed out on the national secondary schools side, which Dan Carter didn’t make during his year either, being superseded by Christ’s College (Christchurch) product Sam Harding.
In a quirk of fate, Harding swapped Christchurch for Otago rugby, while McCaw came the other way.
We now know who did the best out of that particular deal!
In a further irony, Harding’s one international cap was gained when McCaw was rested from a Test against Fiji in 2002.
I was with the All Blacks at the time and can report that McCaw wasn’t entirely thrilled about it!
While, even then, in his first full year as an All Black, McCaw’s status as a starting player, and as the future captain, wasn’t in doubt, he didn’t take anything for granted then – and still doesn’t now.
He was already a winner, having been part of the New Zealand side that had won the world under-19s in 1999, and then having won the NPC in his first full season with the Canterbury NPC side two years later.
As if to show Otago rugby what had fallen through its fingers, he memorably scored three tries when Canterbury won that year at Carisbrook, and was named as an All Black for the first time within a month.
There were still doubters, with one so notable as the exceptional former All Black flanker Josh Kronfeld wondering aloud as to whether the promotion had come too soon.
Those who had the benefit of knowing McCaw, and watching him on the training paddock, had no such concerns.
Their view was confirmed by his first Test outing, which produced a man of the match performance against Ireland at Dublin, followed by a standing ovation at the function afterwards.
As he has developed, as both a player and a leader, the core principals that McCaw has lived by, and applied to his game, have never changed.
The younger version was a ‘greyhound’ on the training field, invariably leading the way. Put them through the 3km test and none of his teammates could keep up!
While the older model has learnt over time greater efficiency with his preparation, this has been achieved without compromising his physical state.
As a result, serious injuries have been few and far between, his ‘engine’ remains one of the most productive in the game.
Likewise, on the field, McCaw has fine-tuned his craft through the years, recognising the short cuts, with his superb sense of anticipation ensuring he has generally been able to plot the quickest route between point A and point B!
As a leader, he has always been calm and measured in his approach: when is the last time you can recall him being animated in his discussion with a referee?
Certainly his status has played a role in this area, in terms of favourable decisions both personally, and for his team.
It has undoubtedly been a point of frustration for opponents, but it is an advantage McCaw has earned over time, due both to his continued excellence as a player, but also in the way he has conducted his relationships with referees.
I have always advised players over the years with relation to their dealings with the news media that it is very hard for journalists to write something negative about someone they like and respect.
McCaw applies a similar premise to his management of refs.
The approach is undoubtedly strategic, it has to be in such a competitive and subjective environment, but it is also just Richie being Richie.
Between his superb analytical knowledge of the rules, his tactical awareness, a reputation built up over a year shy of 15 seasons as a Test player, and his calm demeanour – even when playing on a stage being watched by millions; what referee is going to be brave enough to argue?
99 Tests on, it’s an approach that still works, and is just one of the many learnings the next generation of All Black leaders need to take on board before their iconic skipper takes his final bow.
With his 34th birthday a matter of weeks away, the chances are that sign off will be after his fourth World Cup next year, following which he is most likely to step out of the game altogether.
That was certainly in his thinking when we spoke late last year, while I was preparing my recent book on Robbie Deans, and I doubt it will have changed at all.
As all consuming as All Black life is, there has always been more than that to Richie McCaw.
It’s why such moments as Sunday morning are to be either saluted or cherished (depending on your nationality).
Because the clock is ticking, and it is unlikely we will see his like again.
Matt McIlraith is the former media manager of the Wallabies and Crusaders, and author of the recently released biography of Robbie Deans, Red, Black & Gold – the Robbie Deans story.
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