Richie McCaw

Richie McCaw

Player information
Full name	Richard Hugh McCaw
birthday	December 31, 1980
place of birth	Oamaru , New Zealand
Nickname	Fluffy, Captain Fantastic
society
society	Crusaders and Canterbury RFU ( Super 14 )
position	Winger
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
1999-2015	Canterbury RFU	34 (45)
2001-2015	Crusaders	145 (135)
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
2001-2015	New Zealand	148 (135)
As of November 19, 2015 National team November 19, 2015

Richard Hugh "Richie" McCaw , ONZ (born December 31, 1980 in Oamaru ) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He played at club level for the Canterbury Rugby Football Union in the New Zealand Championship Air New Zealand Cup and for the Crusaders in the International Championship Super 14 . He was also the captain of the New Zealand national rugby union team and is the player with the most international matches. With the All Blacks he won the Rugby Union World Cup in 2011 and 2015 . McCaw is considered the all-time best player in the All Blacks.

Career

McCaw began his rugby career when he was seven years old and moved to Dunedin to attend Otago Boys' High School.

McCaw showed his talent for the first time in the 1998 school rugby final against Rotorua Boys High School. He put the only try for his team in a 5-5 tie. His talent earned him a rugby scholarship to Lincoln University in Christchurch . He accepted the offer and studied agriculture there. This enabled him to play for Canterbury and the Crusaders. At the age of 20 he was called up for the New Zealand national team. He had his first game against Ireland and was voted "man of the match".

In 2004 McCaw became captain of Canterbury. He injured his head but got fit in time and led his team to win the Air New Zealand Cup. In the 60th international match against Wales in late 2004, he was named captain of the All Blacks. In 2005 he was also named captain of the Crusaders. Because of another head injury, he could not play about half of the season. In the end, however, he was fit again and won the cup against NSW Waratahs .

On May 13, 2006, McCaw was named official captain of the All Blacks. He succeeded the legendary Tana Umaga , who officially resigned at the beginning of the 2006 season. It had long been expected that McCaw would take on Umaga's role, since he was already the vice-captain. McCaw is considered the best right winger (openside flanker) in the world.

On November 21, 2006, McCaw won the International Rugby Players' Association award for Best Player of the Year. New Zealand won the Best Team Award and teammate Jason Eaton won the Newcomer of the Year award. McCaw was also named Best Player of 2006 by the International Rugby Board . It also won the Audience Award in New Zealand's Sportsman of the Year election.

On August 15, 2015 McCaw played his 142nd international match in the 41:13 victory of the All Blacks at Eden Park in Auckland against arch-rivals Australia, surpassing the previous world record of Irishman Brian O'Driscoll .

On November 18, 2015, McCaw announced the immediate end of his playing career. At the press conference scheduled for this, he also expressed his condolences in his capacity as the reigning captain of the All Blacks of the family of rugby legend Jonah Lomu, who died on the same day . McCaw announced that he will be working for a Christchurch- based company for helicopter flights .

On December 31, 2015, his 35th birthday, McCaw was awarded the Order of New Zealand as the youngest holder to date .

Other sporting activities

McCaw is an avid glider pilot .

Web links

Commons : Richie McCaw  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Profile on allblacks.com
• Profile at espn

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 'Richie McCaw is the best All Black ever' says New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen. In: The Daily Telegraph , October 31, 2015 (accessed November 16, 2015).
2. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald : McCaw voted top NZ sports person in 2006 December 9, 2006
3. ↑ Maximilian Kalkhof: King Richard before the coronation. In: Spiegel Online , September 18, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
4. ^ Richie McCaw: All Blacks captain retires from rugby after record-breaking test career. Report on abc.net.au, November 19, 2015 (English, accessed January 3, 2015).
5. ^ Richie McCaw remembers Jonah Lomu as an All Black that everyone aspired to. Report on abc.net.au, November 19, 2015 (English, accessed January 3, 2015).
6. ↑ Kevin Norquay: New Year's Honors: Richie McCaw youngest-ever appointed to New Zealand's highest honor. Report on stuff.co.nz, December 31, 2015 (accessed January 3, 2015).