A sighting of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw on a popular United States television show sent social media into a spin yesterday.

McCaw, who is enjoying a sabbatical from playing rugby with a view to keeping him available for the next Rugby World Cup, was spotted in the audience on David Letterman's chat show, The Late Show with David Letterman.

The glimpse was for less than a second as the cameras panned through the crowd, but it was just long enough for the World Cup winning captain to be identified. It was also enough for it to go viral on the internet.

Inquiries by The Press were unable to categorically confirm that it was McCaw although a close friend did confirm that he had been in New York recently.

McCaw is taking a sabbatical to "sharpen his mind", after a tough four years of rugby.

He is believed to have cut himself off from the rugby world with members of the Crusaders squad saying they had not heard from their former captain.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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