There was a brief moment in 2013 when this column toyed with posing the question as to whether the Greatest All Black (GAB) of all time, Richie McCaw, had reached the end of the road. His legacy was assured long before he played the 2011 World Cup final with a broken foot. That courageous effort was a mere footnote in a peerless career of extraordinary breakdown feats and inspirational leadership.
But his playing form post-World Cup 2011 seemed to be on the wane. It seemed like a valid question to ask. Alas, journalistic self-preservation prevailed - no scribe dare disrespect McCaw without incurring the wrath of the nation. And certainly not an Australian-based column. Call him a cheat - and many non-Kiwi commentators did - but question the great man’s worth on a rugby pitch, well that was just plain heresy.
Not anymore it seems. Now, even the Kiwis are saying it’s time for McCaw to call it a day. The chap shouting the loudest is NZ Herald columnist Chris Rattue. Cleverly, Rattue has cloaked his call under the guise of concern for McCaw’s health after the All Black captain, 34, suffered his sixth career concussion (that we know about) against the Blues two weeks ago. Rattue says his call for McCaw’s retirement is “primarily a health issue”.
But he then goes onto say what many observers have been thinking all season: “[McCaw] certainly hasn’t got anything to prove, and probably a bit to lose in the immediate aftermath if we find that fading legends hung on too long in 2015. [All Blacks coach] Steve Hansen is threatening to defend the Webb Ellis Cup with a bunch of old-timers - a few too many - including well-over-30 veterans McCaw, Dan Carter, Jerome Kaino, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock and Conrad Smith. Shag’s Army will be Dad’s Army,” the controversial columnist says. Astonishingly, many seem to agree with Rattue, a scribe, no less, whom Hansen once described as NZ’s village idiot.
And so we arrive here - round 13 of the Super Rugby tournament, and what will in all likelihood be McCaw’s last game in Christchurch (against the Reds on Friday). Ditto Dan Carter, Colin Slade and Tom Taylor who are all off to foreign clubs and fat salaries. Make no mistake, this is the end of a great Crusaders era. Even die-hard Cantabrians will tell you that. In fact, they’ll be bawling their eyes out this weekend; they’re honest folk in the Canterbury Plains, and they know the gig is up. The question is whether it’s game over for McCaw too. To this column, the experience of that moment in 2013 when it was time to press send on a piece headlined ‘McCaw Done and Dusted’ is instructive. Yes, cowardice prevailed and the copy was dispatched to the trash folder. Indeed, one needs to live to file another day in this business. But then the most incredible thing happened: McCaw wound back the years and played like a man possessed.
How he could do that, we will never know. But he made a fool of all of us who dared think the great man’s best was behind him. Done and dusted? Hardily. It was more like he was just getting started. McCaw probably doesn’t have much left to give beyond 2015. But for now, let’s not forget for one moment we are talking about the GAB, a player who has meticulously kept hand-written notes of practice sessions, and not to mention Test matches; a man of peerless preparation for Test battle. And he’s a player who, historically, has known the limits of his endurance and pain tolerance. If he wasn’t up for another World Cup campaign, he’d know it. And he’d let all of us know too. So Rattue and his fellow Kiwis can write off their living national treasure at their own peril. We know better.
Like McCaw, the Melbourne Rebels are also making fools of those who dared write them off as play-off material. With wins against the Brumbies, Chiefs and Crusaders, they are undoubtedly the most improved team this year. Can they keep going to snare a wildcard spot? Getting past the talented yet under-performing Blues will be a tricky home encounter though. The two best matches of the round will be in South Africa in the early hours of Sunday morning - the Lions v Highlanders and the Stormers v Brumbies. If the Highlanders win, that’s it for the Crusaders. The Brumbies, meanwhile, can only look on helplessly as the Waratahs make their run to the top of the Australian conference with a relatively soft run into the play-offs.
Super Rugby Rd 13 (All times AEST)
Friday
Crusaders v Reds - 535pm
Rebels v Blues - 740pm
Saturday
Hurricanes v Sharks - 535pm
Force v Waratahs - 740pm
Sunday
Lions v Highlanders - 105am
Stormers v Brumbies - 310am
