ru_nationalcaps article_title superyears birth_date ru_provinceyears superpoints allblackno ru_nationalyears university ru_provincecaps ru_nationalpoints superupdate supercaps image ru_position other name school allblackid ru_currentteam ru_currentposition birth_place height ru_ntupdate ru_provincepoints weight ru_provinceupdate birth_name
142 richie mccaw
 2001 -- 31 december 1980 1999 -- -lrb- 135 -rrb- 27t 1014 2001 -- lincoln university 34 -lrb- 135 -rrb- 27t 25 april 2015 145 richie mccaw 2011 -lrb- cropped -rrb- . jpg flanker , number eight yes richie mccaw otago boys ' high school 1006 crusaders / canterbury flanker , number eight oamaru , north otago , new zealand 1.88 15 august 2015 -lrb- 45 -rrb- 9t 108 kg st 19 october 2013 richard hugh mccaw
richie mccaw

richard hugh `` richie '' mccaw -lrb- born 31 december 1980 -rrb- is a new zealand rugby union player , the current test captain of the all blacks -- the country 's national team .
he is the most capped test rugby player of all time .
he predominantly plays in the openside flanker position for the new zealand , crusaders and canterbury teams , but had also played as blindside flanker and no. 8 .
mccaw is considered by many as the greatest openside flanker of all time , with his ability to anticipate play and adaptability to referee 's law interpretations two of his key attributes .
he was raised in kurow in rural north otago , before moving to dunedin in 1994 to board at otago boys ' high school .
in 1999 he moved to christchurch to study at lincoln university and was selected in the national under-19 team .
the following year he played for the under-21s and canterbury in the national provincial championship -lrb- npc -rrb- , before debuting in 2001 for the crusaders in super rugby .
he was selected for the all blacks ' 2001 end-of-year tour , despite having played only eight minutes of super 12 rugby .
his debut for new zealand was against ireland , where he was awarded man-of-the-match and was selected as new zealand 's first choice openside flanker for the 2003 world cup .
mccaw became a regular selection for new zealand , only missing a few games due to reoccurring concussions .
in 2006 he was appointed captain of the all blacks -- who he led at the 2007 world cup .
after their elimination in the quarter-finals , his captaincy came under criticism , but he was retained and eventually led the team to victory in the 2011 rugby world cup .
during mccaw 's career , canterbury won the npc -lrb- later itm cup -rrb- five times , and the crusaders have reached the super rugby semi-finals nine times , going on to win the final on four of these occasions .
since his debut the all blacks have won seven tri-nations titles , completed three successful grand slam tours and won the bledisloe cup eight times .
in 2010 mccaw played his 100th super rugby game , made a record-equalling 94th test appearance for his country , and became new zealand 's most capped all black captain -- leading the side in 87 test matches , making him the highest capped test captain in rugby union history .
he has been named the international rugby board -lrb- irb -rrb- international player of the year a record three times .
in 2010 his contract was nz$ 750,000 per year , making him the equal highest paid player in new zealand .
in the 2011 world cup pool game against france , mccaw became the first all black to reach 100 caps .
on 23 october , mccaw led his team to their second world cup title in 24 years by beating france 8 -- 7 in the final .
in 2012 , after the win against the springboks in soweto , mccaw became the first rugby union player to win 100 tests -- while at the time only having lost 12 games .
mccaw is the most-capped player in rugby union history with 142 caps .
his autobiography , `` richie mccaw : the open side '' , was co-written with greg mcgee and released on 9 october 2012 .
in the united kingdom and united states the book is titled `` the real mccaw '' .
it includes some criticism of wayne barnes ' appointment as the referee for the all blacks ' 2007 rugby world cup quarter-final , and gives mccaw 's perspective of the coaching appointment of graham henry over robbie deans .
