What makes richie mccaw so good

Showed in New Zealand's last showdown against South Africa why quite rightly he is the All Blacks captain and why he is the best flanker, hell, the best forward in the world. The past few years there has been no better loose forward than McCaw, and just as he was injured New Zealand lost a spark. And the rugby world stopped and thought maybe New Zealand would not win the Tri-Nations. There is the cynical, dangerous and stupid kind of cheating. Tana Umaga is guilty of it spear tackles, suppose Kevin Mealamu could go in there too and so is Serge Betson tripping and causing someone to suffer a broken leg.

Then there is the clever, tactical, knowledgeable and game winning type of cheating. That he has now mastered. McCaw, 34, certainly did that as he never shirked a ruck or tackle and emerged the master of the breakdown - the key battleground of modern-day rugby.

Yet the young McCaw, who hailed from Scottish stock as his great-great-grandfather had emigrated from the Borders in , did not treat the game seriously until he was a teenager. It was not until , when he boarded at Otago Boys' High School in Dunedin, that his interest in the game grew and his potential took him into the 'Baby Blacks' Under squad which won the world championship in In , he made his Super Rugby debut with the Crusaders, the first of appearances, and he was named Newcomer of the Year by the International Rugby Players' Association in Enter email address This field is required Sign Up.

The openside flanker was traditionally the link between backs and forwards, the man with deft handling skills but who also saw the opponents' outside-half with a target rather than the number ten on his back.

But McCaw had sheer brute strength, capable of mixing it with bigger men at the breakdown as well as possessing the speed and handling skills to play the traditional tearaway and free the backs.

At 6ft 2in and nearly 17 stone McCaw was a formidable physical specimen and turnovers became his speciality and a powerful weapon of any side he played in. His messages were clear. He didn't panic and he had the faith that we had the right skills to get back into that game and the right temperament. In the past two years there have been sporadic bursts of public McCaw-bashing.

There was an intense period in March-April this year when his form was barely so-so with the Crusaders. The questions came: was he past it?

Had his amazing engine finally packed up? Were the All Blacks going to make a dreadful mistake taking someone his age to the World Cup to play in the most demanding position? Their faith was vindicated in Samoa when 14 All Blacks wilted in the heat but one ran and tackled for 80 minutes, barely pausing for breath. Again, they were proven right to believe 10 days later when McCaw clambered all over the Pumas and a week later, with the All Blacks hanging by a thread in the final 20 minutes at Ellis Park, the captain's decision to go for their "trick" lineout move saw them home.

Not for one second have the players doubted their captain. Not for one second has any All Black been uncertain about the importance of McCaw or, in particular, how much he will bring to the World Cup campaign. The tournament essentially comes down to the team that best handles the pressure. It's about calm in the maelstrom. He captained the All Blacks in out of his test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups, retiring after their victory.

He is the most capped test rugby player of all time with caps, and the first rugby union player to win tests. His debut for New Zealand was against Ireland in , aged just 20, and despite his first touch of the ball resulting in a knock-on, he was Man of the Match. In he became All Blacks captain. After defeat in the World Cup quarter-finals, versus France, his captaincy came under criticism. An emotional McCaw could not hide his disappointment: If I knew the answers we would have sorted it out.

We will be thinking about it for a long time. He was accused of not inspiring his team, lacking the ability to change when plan A was not working, and not providing leadership on the field. But he learnt from his mistakes, and McCaw led his team to the World Champions title, beating France 8—7 in the final. McCaw, quite incredibly, achieved a staggering His leadership was unquestionable, his playing ability envied and judged to be the epitome of an openside flanker.

McCaw was always there in the mix, leading by being there right on the shoulder of a teammate in the thick of the action. Winning leaders like McCaw offer valuable insights into the attributes needed for leading startup teams. This requires considerable mental fortitude.

Some decisions will not be clear-cut. It is during critical situations that your team will look to you for guidance and you may be forced to make a quick decision. Fire in the belly, but ice in the brain is a useful maxim here. Emotional discipline is important. As a role model, the example set by the captain must meet every expectation he has of the players. For example, if the captain becomes angry with the referee and constantly questions his decisions, then he cannot expect his players to accept refereeing decisions themselves.

A loss of emotional control will affect timing, co-ordination and the ability to read the game.