four things still on McCaws to do list???

//Getty Images Four things still on McCaw's to do list? James Mortimer - (17/09/2012) - 238 Comments

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw extended his lead at the top of the 'wins' leaderboard for rugby players throughout history, registering his 98th test win in the World Champions 21-11 win over the Springboks at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
  Wallabies halfback George Gregan is number two on the wins list, with 93, although it took the former Austrailan captain 139 tests to achieve this, while English forward Jason Leonard is second with 89 wins (from 119 tests).

Number four and five on that chart are Mils Muliaina (84 wins from 100 tests) and Keven Mealamu (83 wins from 97 tests).

Indeed, the 110-test All Blacks flanker, the most capped New Zealand international of all time, could feel confident about overhauling Gregan as the most capped player in history.

The first argument would be 'if his body holds up', but it was a light footed McCaw, pounded by the Springboks in Dunedin, who was still chasing at the close of the test match over the weekend.

This lends itself to perhaps the big box that McCaw would like to tick in 2015.

No Rugby World Cup has ever been successfully defended, and if the 73-test (as captain) could achieve this, he might be able to carve out his name as arguably the greatest.

Some would argue if he hung up his boots now that mantle would already be in place.

When McCaw won the Rugby World Cup there was always a feeling it was only going to be the start of a new chapter, and he alongside the team are clearly determined to constantly honour their tag as 'World Champions'.

Mention of decline now seems irrelevent, with it barely 12 months ago that some were suggesting that Wallabies fetcher David Pocock or even Welsh captain Sam Warburton were now the foremost authorities on the deck.

Maybe as a pure ball scavenger, but McCaw has again reinvented himself, becoming a fearsome ball carrier this season.

McCaw carried the ball more than any other All Black in Dunedin, not the first time this season he has achieved this, making nearly 50 metres with eight carries, while he was the side's top tackler with 12 made, none missed.

There was plenty of hints of the arrival of McCaw, when in 2001 he won a NPC title with Canterbury (named the First Division player of the year as well as the Under-21 player of the year), before making his All Blacks debut against Ireland later that season.

A Super Rugby title and Tri-Nations would follow in 2002, as would the Bledisloe Cup in 2003, the same year McCaw was named as New Zealand's best that season.

Since then his resume reads a Rugby World Cup, three Grand Slams, seven Tri-Nations, a Lions tour whitewash, four Super Rugby trophies while he has never relinquished the Bledisloe Cup as captain.

Notching 100 test wins, if the All Blacks can remain unbeaten during the remainder of The Investec Rugby Championship could be his next goal.  Winning the maiden title of the tournament could here too.

Chasing down Gregan's record would come if he was able to lead the All Blacks into 2015, and try and become the first successful captain to defend a global crown.

And achievement number four?

Perhaps winning an Olympic Gold Medal at Rio in 2016.

It would seem absurd, but McCaw has a knack of doing things that ordinary humans might otherwise class as impossible.

Sasu

Nice article by a peson who is totally fawning over McCaw.   That he is a rugby creat is true.   But hell - there is no way in the world he can achieve what is written in this article.   Gour things - my foot - there is less chance than that than a snoiwball's hope in hell.

The only realistic one is the achievement of being in a team winning 100 tests - probably only possivle next year.   Two of the other three reminds me of what you wrote previously - that in 2015 McCaw will win the WC all on its own after 14 playes have been sent off by the SA referee- that he will on his own found world peace and that he will invent a cure for cancer.

First of all McCaw will be 35 at the time of the next WC - and if he is still captain and playing - I reduce that possibility of repeating the win by something like 95% .   There is no way that he can perform as a top loosie by that time and if he does - I would up my rating of him to even higher levels than at present.   I still maintain he has shown signs of lesser achievement in tests this year than he did say two years ago.   But nobody in New Zealand seem to realize that.   Matter of fact it would be wise for New Zealand rugby to start thinking about successors for him.  In essence I do not believe that players are really competitive when they get over the age of 31-32, and has pbeen proven correct virtually all the time.   Don't mention Thorne - he was 36 - but really not the best in the world - so lets leave it at that.

Secondly there is a chance that seven-a-side rugby can become an Olympic Sport - but 15 man-rugby will never be one.   So unless McCaw becomes a seven-a-side player - which I would think would be a joke - McCaw will not play in the Olympic Games in 2016.

I think I prefer to read realistic things - not day-dreams of the impossible - so that article is like saying that the best prop in the world is Greyling - mostly fawning crap - excuse me for saying that.

 

@clevermike,

i would say that McCaws task, especially defending the RWC will be tough, but IMO albeit kiwi one eyedness, it can be done, especially going by the form McCaw has shown in 2012, which is better then his form the last two years.
while thorn was not the best lock in the world, he was the best lock in NZ for his particular skill sets and was a tremendous boost for the All Blacks every time he played.
i see McCaw in a similar light, but at the moment i expecting McCaw to get another IRB player of the year nomination and thats no small feat. i guess all we can do is wait and see what happens, but if McCaw is playing half as well as he is at the moment for the next two years, RWC wont be a problem.

and there was a thread here u started asking me about retallick and what he was doing with those lineouts. i didnt notice anything the first time round, but when i rewatched the game from the 50min onwards where retallick is subbed on and checked out all the lineouts, i didnt really see anything of what u mentioned about him standing to the side and what have u, could u mention the time of these particular lineouts and i will have looksy, :o)

until then im hoping McCaw defires the odds and futher elevates his status in ur books, lolz, :P

saSUE there is only one thing mcaaaaw needs to do and that is to clean up his act before it is too late. At least then he could say he mended his ways!

We all should know wha the was the greatest at.

By the way we had a very pap lock playing for the Boks who was also fawned upon like this - some folk desparately need heroes.

My posts have been deleted due to extreme profanity. I love the Springboks and I apologise for being sheepish.

@ben10,

hows it going there my saffa brother??? :o)

i agree, McCaw must clean up his act at once, how dare he headbutt greylings elbow, and lets not forget the RWC final when he tried to break rougeries fingers with his eyeballs, oh and lest we forget, poor quade cooper whose knee has not been quite the same since McCaw slapped it with his face, tsk tsk tsk, :/

 

sigh, pleae McCaw, for the love of ben10 and myslef, please clean up ur act, ok, :P

Hmmm.... you lads better watch this, just incase there are a few doubts!

www.youtube.com/watch

Thanks saSUE perhaps if ab fans give him the message he may mend his ways.

Oh the other thing he needs to do is recover from the pounding he took last week! wee mcaaaaw is looking a bit frail these days. Perhaps its just the power of the Bok forwards?

 @allblacknblue,

LMAO, richie can pee his name in concrete, classic & so true, :P

 @ben10,

funny u should say that now that McCaws on sabbatical in 2013, but i guess u wont be too happy as he will be back to defend the IRC title we will be winning this weekend, -_O

 @ben10,

funny u should say that now that McCaws on sabbatical in 2013, but i guess u wont be too happy as he will be back to defend the IRC title we will be winning this weekend, -_O

 @ben10,

funny u should say that now that McCaws on sabbatical in 2013, but i guess u wont be too happy as he will be back to defend the IRC title we will be winning this weekend, -_O

Sasue

Must say I do feel that your optimism about McCaw would be problematic.   I cannot see him functioning as effecient in 2015 at the age of 36 years as a satisfactory player.   I often wander about players - irrespective of how good they may be.   Problem is that they start thinking they are irreplaceable and then not retire while they are on their peak.   When they continue playing and go down in performance in the process - they are remembered mostly by their later and poorer perforamnces - not by the greatness they showed previously.

The above is happening time and again.   Let me give you an example.   Smit was a very good player in 2007 - but by 2011 a disappointment.   He is relly not remembered as a captain of a winning WC team in 2007, but as captain of a losing team in 2011.   The latter is fresher in the memory of people - than the former.   Reason is he was tried out not only as a hooker, but as a prop as well - a position in which he was very poor.

There are numerous other examples all over the rugby world over many years and there is a real danger that it could also be the case with McCaw.   I say may - it is very likely that the term should be "will".   If I would give any advice on the matter to McCaw it would be that he  should gradually move out and retain the wide admiration of people all over the world - he should not stay past his sell-by date and in the process ruins his reputation.