Richie McCaw: The Greatest; A tribute

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Kiwis will enjoy this article, not so sure about some of our other board members

 hes so damn McCawesome, long live the king,

 Only GOD is King and the Greatest and thank GOD for his servant McCaw . All Glory to GOD. Thanks for sharing JW - Hi Naru, good to have you back from time to time

Our belived kbbs havinf a mjtual back slapping moment over the rascal mcheat. oaks lets be clear on.mcheat. A pretty mediocre player whose claim to fame is he got away with it. Well not so much in recent times where he has not been good enough for test rugby. His seven turnovers to Seven penalties this RWC dsys it all. The kbbs are however masters at mhyh making. mcaaw is a myth. If you want a real hero look at The truly great Schalk Burger. Completely out performed the hapless Ritchie. Beeno trying hard to keep these chest beating kbbs feet on the ground! YES its great to have saSUE back even if it adds to my heavy worioad.

Hacked wsaaghahaha wee mcaaw was a master if the dark orc arts. Again, if you are lookjng for a hero, I commend to you honest Justin Marshsll a man who so often points out underhand play by nz sides. How painful it must be for this upstandind man to livd in such a toxic environment!!

 Hopefully tbe above comments will enlighten the kbbs.

 yes egg beenedicto

 Hakwa, "egg beene dicto" good one mate

 I want MacCaw tp be the first and only Captain to have 100 wins as captain .Will prolly never be repeated .Beenedicto wont find any beenidiction here .[ good one brother Hakwa !] So could you please fark off and find something else to try and crap on ?Theres a good monkey boy .

Good player but nowhere near the best...not even close. More hype than material evidence of a brilliant player. 
There are a few around...another was Martin Johnson of England....very average rugby player who was big and had a presence....skilful lock he was not.

 Yep one wonders what the kbbs see in wee mcaaaaw. Obviousl y his devious ways appeal to them 

He is very good at what he does.....whatever that is. In all seriousness what does he actually do that makes him stand out......for me loosies like Hooper, Pocock, Read, Vermeulen, Perisse, Jaco Kriel and Picamole stand out

 Saffex I thought you said you knew something about Rugby ?You just put yourself right down there with beansh!tfer brains.

Nope I'm asking the question - what does he do that makes him stand out...for to be the best you need to dazzle....I don't buy into all the unsung hero donkey work he may do. I see very few turnovers - the job of a fetcher, I see no dazzling displays with ball in hands...or silky hands that set others free.
I see a good solid player who's strength is being a nuisance to the opposition, he'll put in his tackles, make a conventional pass etc....I never see anything special. 
Don't get me wrong, he is a good player....but he is anything but a special one. Read is better as was Zinzane. I just don't get what all the fuss is about. Enlighten me, what am I missing?

Sometimes its what you don't see that makes a player special. That guy on the team that lifts everyone else just by being there. The one who always seems to be there to make that tackle or pop up on the end of that pass. The one who you know will give more than everyone else to get the job done. Topped off by being such a genuine guy that you cant dislike him even when he pulls on that black jumper.

Well said Mr Claydoggie .McCaw has been such a pain in the butt for other teams  that they go to extraordinary lengths to target him .No longer a pure fetcher he now adds to his repertoire with his skill at slowing down and disrupting opposition ball ,acting as linkman and a pretty good running game ,tackles like a demon and his Mana as Captain has tipped many close fought games in the ABS favour .If he wasnt so good no bugger would care now would they ?  

mcheat is genuine guy. Bwhahahahahahahahaha says it all about these down under types! 
Strip away the illegal play and mcaaaaw was a non entity   - much like the mythical wee abs test record. 
Get over yourselves kbbs and get over mcaaaw. Who knows ethical standards might, I say might, improve with his departure. One can only hope.

Beeno not entertaining for a second fanciful notions from warped DUD

 Brycy he could have resumed his dalliance with that british madam?

 The greatest player to have walked this earth, case closed.

 That Irish madam is a no doubt a better person than ou beandik ,certainly more fun and better looking  !

 Lame warped DUD exceedingy lame!
The most conniving player ever. Widely known throughout the rugby world as mc cheat. A true kiwi legend! 
Cased closed!

 More widely known as the greatest player of all time ,jealous much suck-face ? And that madame is still smarter and better looking than you beansh!tferbrains .

Total package for me .... more years than not - the best in the world at his position, leader on the field, longevity of career, teams he was on accomplished lasting success (Saders and All Blacks), class act on and off the field.

 oimattie be guided by saffex and myself on this matter. Dont fall for kbb proaganda. How you mention wee mccheat and class in the same breath indicates you have a horrendous understanding of the word. kkbs dont try and make your heroes mine. Thanks.

 Richie's greatest strengths were his consistency, longevity and leadership. He never dipped below a 7/10 really. 

Don't know if I'd go as far as Dave in denying Richie McCaw the title of "great" but I do think the Kiwis tend to go a bit overboard in describing Richie McCaw as the greatest rugby player of all time.
Not having a pop at our Kiwi friends and I really do regard Richie McCaw as a great player but honestly, you guys do tend to get a bit precious when it comes to "King Richie McAwesome". 
New Zealanders tend to treat any criticism of McCaw as blasphemy but Dave asks a valid question above . . . what is it that McCaw does that makes him this supposed rugby god? He's good enough at just about every discipline required of an openside flanker but he doesn't really excel at anything. Michael Jones was another openside flanker who the Kiwis used to rave about and call the greatest of all time but at least Michael Jones had some standout qualities like his pace and his ball-winning ability. Richie isn't particularly quick, he's no great ball carrier, his ball-winning on the deck might have been quite spectacular for a season or two a decade ago but his pilfering skills are barely aboov average these days and his tackling is reliable rather than destructive.
Personally I don't think he's the greatest openside flanker ever let alone the greatest rugby player of all time. Jean Pierre Rives, Fergus Slattery and Michael Jones would all make my all-time World XV ahead of McCaw. Richie may well have been the best in his position for a few years but there's little doubt in my mind he's been surpassed by David Poco.ck in the last few years and perhaps by a few others as well.
A great player no doubt but also someone whose been put onto a pedestal by his adoring New Zealand admirers who don't tolerate criticism of their hero and who seem to have been collectively indoctrinated into the fundamental belief that no other player is allowed to even be compared to King Richie the Rugby God.

 Carter is more deserved. Most influential player for NZ for the last decade. McCaw was a great captain, bit I liked Fitzie better.

fFir.i.ce ou rooitwit gets it right. You can imagine my shock!!! Yes I think the kkbs are trying to get everyone to agree wee ritchie was the greatest so they can bask in reflected glory. Hence the angst if anyone sets them straight. Beeno, as always setting the record straight!

No doubt that  he is an excellent player, an excellent captain and leads from the front.
Above all that he is an outstanding example of being a gentlemen off the field and to the game of rugby.
He has been fortunate to have led the All Blacks in an era where they have been head and shoulders above all comers without exception.
But to rate any player as the best of all time only goes to the present crop of players, remembering that the old timers actually worked for a living and player rugby as a sport part time.
Present day players are full time professionals as opposed to having to work and carve out careers off the field to provide for their families. So please spare a bit of praise and respect for the past crop of non professional players.
Not taking anything away from McCaw he has been awesome and I am pleased to have had the honor of watching him play rugby.
I to would love to see him become the first test captain to win 100 test....he is deserving of that honor.
Thank you Mr McCaw.  

 Let me put it in other words, if there were one NZ player from the last 20 years that I could pick to rather have played for the Boks, it would be Carter. Hands down, no doubt...no other player comes close...Johnny Wilco not that close a second.

 It's not a question of what he does, which is still massively contribute in a side at an age when most players are considering retirement, it's what he's done that makes him the greatest.  No player has maintained the level of performance both internationally and domestically that he does for as long as he has, world rugby player of the year 3 times, only matched by Carter.  His place as captain and starting openside has never been questioned, Carter's has.  
He has lead the All Blacks through without doubt their most successful tenure in history.  Quite simply, the greatest of all time.

 No one said hes the greatest openside flanker of all time ,but taken as a whole the greatest player I have ever seen .Ans he schooled podork in the final making just as many turnovers too .His captaincy alone gives the ABs a significant edge and no longer a pure fetcher the combination of his other skills  still puts him ahead of the one dimensional Podork and as Poie says its not just the Richie of the here and now that you have to take into account its all he's done over his career as well.I notice Rooie you cant put up someone else who has a better claim ? Only Carter comes close but if I had to pick one to be in the team its McCaw.

"I notice Rooie you cant put up someone else who has a better claim ?"
Well Wardad, I did put up three openside flankers who I feel have a better claim for best in their position but if you want my candidates for greatest player of all time in any position then that list would include Gareth Edwards, Hennie Muller, Colin Meads, Frik du Preez, Mervyn Davies, Dan Carter, Willie-John McBride, Christian Cullen, Fergus Slattery and Danie Gerber.
I'll probably think of another dozn I'd like to include but I hope that's enough for now.

 I could easily argue based on McCaws record he even shades Meads ,could any of them still be performing like McCaw after 148 tests ? Could they  at his age beat their peers the way McCaw has with Podonk ? You have to add in his qualities as captain too remember as we are looking at him over a massive career spanning 12 years amd perhaps still going .

My thoughts exactly Rooi......a good player at best, nothing special and not even close to being the greatest player ever......in fact he would not make my list of 100 best players ever.......that is not saying I don't rate him, he was good......but come on.......greatest rugby hype ever.