McCaw, Richie

Richie McCaw, in full Richard Hugh McCaw, (born December 31, 1980, Oamaru, North Otago district, South Island, New Zealand), New Zealand rugby player who competed in a world-record 148 Test (international) matches and led his country’s national team, the All Blacks, to two Rugby Union World Cups (2011 and 2015).

McCaw grew up on his family’s farm in the Hakataramea Valley and played rugby for the local Kurow Rugby Club’s junior side. At Otago Boys’ High School in Dunedin, he was “number eight” in the school’s first XV (the top-level team). Following his graduation in 1999, he joined the Christchurch Football Club. He enrolled at Lincoln University, Christchurch, to study agricultural science, but he broke off his studies when he was selected to play for the New Zealand Under-19 team for the 1999 World Under-19 Rugby Tournament, which was won by New Zealand.

In 2000 McCaw was selected for the New Zealand Under-21 side, which he captained; he was named the Under-21 Player of the Year at the 2001 Steinlager Rugby Awards. He made his debut for Canterbury in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) in 2000 and was named the NPC Division One Player of the Year. McCaw made 34 appearances for Canterbury, leading it to the NPC title in 2004. In 2001 he made his debut for the Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders) in Super Rugby, the principal professional rugby competition in the Southern Hemisphere. He played 145 times for the Crusaders through 2015 and helped the team to four Super Rugby titles, three times as captain.

McCaw made his All Blacks debut in 2001 against Ireland in Dublin, the first of his 148 Tests. In New Zealand’s match against France in the 2011 Rugby Union World Cup, he became the first All Black to play in 100 Tests. McCaw was named captain of the All Blacks against Wales in 2004 and was given the post on a permanent basis in 2006, eventually leading the team in a record 110 Tests. New Zealand enjoyed great success during McCaw’s tenure in the side, with 131 victories (another world record), 15 losses, and 2 draws. The team won the Rugby Championship (formerly the Tri-Nations competition) 10 times (7 under his captaincy), the Bledisloe Cup contested by New Zealand and Australia 13 times (10 under his captaincy), and two Rugby Union World Cups (2011 and 2015, both under his captaincy). McCaw retired from rugby after the 2015 World Cup.

McCaw’s professional honours were numerous. He was named the International Rugby Board (later World Rugby) Newcomer of the Year in 2001 and the Player of the Year in 2006, 2009, and 2010. He also was awarded the Kelvin R. Tremain Memorial Trophy as New Zealand Player of the Year four times (2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012) and the Halberg Award for New Zealand Sportsman of the Year twice (2010 and 2011).

Off the rugby field, McCaw was known for his charitable causes, which included the iSport Foundation and the organization Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand. He was also involved in fund-raising after the devastating Christchurch earthquakes of 2010–11. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather, who was a fighter pilot in World War II, McCaw was a licensed pilot. In 2015 he was made the youngest-ever member of the Order of New Zealand, and the following year he was named New Zealander of the Year. His autobiography, Richie McCaw: The Open Side (2012), was also published under the title The Real McCaw: The Autobiography. Chasing Great, a biographical documentary film, was released in 2016.