McCaw: An ordinary Kiwi doing an extraordinary job

BY TOBY ROBSON IN SYDNEY

Richie McCaw has come a long way. From a shy Canterbury openside flanker to the most capped All Blacks test captain in history, McCaw will stride on to ANZ Stadium tonight holding far more than another statistical milestone.

By the numbers the 29-year-old stacks up. McCaw will lead the All Blacks test side for the 52nd time, surpassing Sean Fitzpatrick's mark.

He has lost only four tests as skipper and only 10 times as a player during his 88 appearances in the black jersey. He topped Fitzpatrick's record mark of 74 wins in Wellington last month.

The numerical accolades are sure to mount further before he is done, but it is an immeasurable commodity that McCaw now possesses that is separating him from the pack. Like politicians in their pomp, the Cantabarian has universal approval in the polls.

He is the baby-kissing, sponsor-pleasing, try-in-the-corner-scoring, plane-flying, Kiwi bloke with the boy-next-door smile. He is the guy who went to Raurimu Avenue School in Northland and hid in a shower curtain to make a class of kids smile.

To top it off, most weeks McCaw is the best player on the park, described by Graham Henry this week as "the most influential player in the world right now".

He is the promise of World Cup glory, the ultimate all-rounder.

Former All Blacks captain Wayne Shelford says it is something of a perfect storm with McCaw the best flanker of his generation, and possibly now in the best team.

"He was given the leadership as a young man, what was it? 23? They saw the potential and they gave it to him early and now it's all paying off," Shelford said. "He is world-class. There's probably only one flanker in the world to date who has equalled him and that was George Smith from Australia.

"It goes back to the grounding that Canterbury and that black-and-red machine gave him. It brings on leaders and is a strong culture and he was part of that pretty much since he left college."

Under Shelford's guidance the All Blacks never lost in 14 tests. But he is quick to deflect plaudits to the collective.

"It's not just about the captain. The All Blacks have a great success rate no matter who is captain – the percentages are very, very high," he said. "McCaw is playing in a golden era at the moment.

"Richie's just an ordinary Kiwi bloke doing what he loves doing, playing footy. There's always going to be another flanker who will come along and be just as good. There was Michael Jones, then there was Josh Kronfeld. Who will come along after McCaw?"

It is the humble mark of a leader and at yesterday's captain's run, McCaw had the same almost embarrassed tone when confronted with his place in history.

"You flip a coin at the start of the game, that's about all there is to it," he said. "I just want this team to do well however long I play for it. Personal things come second to that. However long I've got left, I never want to lose a game."

But some say you are the greatest?

"To be even mentioned in the same breath as Fitzy is pretty crazy when you think about it. I don't get carried away with those sorts of things to be honest, but I guess it's something to be proud of when you get time to reflect.

"When you are captain of a team you only do any good if you have a good team and a good bunch of guys around you, and that's where I've been lucky. That [being the greatest] is for other people to judge."

Such deflections do not tell the whole story. Like it or not McCaw will take his place alongside names such as Wilson Whineray, Brian Lochore, Graham Mourie and David Kirk.

His current status has not come without overcoming hurdles. When the All Blacks crashed out of the 2007 World Cup in that ill-fated quarterfinal, the sharks circled.

Where was the leadership? Why did the All Blacks not take a drop goal? Why did McCaw not talk more to referee Wayne Barnes? Why did the game plan not change?

Like all good leaders, McCaw took it all on board and made the necessary adjustments. He has learnt lessons from the get-go. He did not captain the All Blacks till his 25th test and he learned valuable lessons that day in Cardiff when the visitors scraped home 26-25 against Wales. It would be nine tests till he led the side again.

He has learnt to communicate with referees and, more importantly, to adapt to them and lead his team away from or into their influence as required. He has become very influential in building the culture, deciding how the side is run.

It is both McCaw's time and his team's. All that is missing is a World Cup.

Perhaps that is still to come.

AT A GLANCE

Wayne Shelford Tests as captain: 14 Record: won 13, drew 1

Sean Fitzpatrick Tests as captain: 51 Record: won 39, lost 11, drew 1

Brian Lochore Tests as captain: 18 Record: won 15, lost 3

Wilson Whineray Tests as captain: 30 Record: won 22, lost 5, drew 3

Graham Mourie Tests as captain: 19 Record: won 15, lost 4

David Kirk Tests as captain: 11 Record: won 8, lost 3

Richie McCaw Tests as captain: 51 Record as captain: won 45, lost 6

- © Fairfax NZ News