Richie McCaw Retires: Latest Details, Comments and Reaction

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 18, 2015

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Richie McCaw has announced his retirement from professional rugby, bringing to a close one of the most decorated careers in the sport just three weeks after he captained New Zealand to the 2015 Rugby World Cup crown.

The All Blacks legend confirmed his decision at a press conference in Wellington on Thursday, per Stuff.co.nz, hanging up his boots after earning 148 international caps for New Zealand, making him the most capped Test player of all time. Before the official press conference, McCaw confirmed the news via his Facebook account:



McCaw's cap achievement is particularly impressive when one considers the two players directly behind him in the Test cap count, Brian O'Driscoll (141) and George Gregan (139) played in much less physical positions.

Opening up on his decision to call time at this juncture, McCaw was quoted by the Telegraph's Mick Cleary, where he stated:

This the end of my rugby days, the reality of hanging up my boots. This is the end of something that has been a big part of my life. I left it until now but I didn’t want to have a foot out of the door during the World Cup. I wanted to make it about the team, not about the individual.

That sentiment summarises what it was that made the famed No. 7 great at his job, so often sacrificing his body for the good of the team, a notion that rang true until the final whistle of October's final win over Australia.

The Press Association broke McCaw's career down by the numbers, helping put into context just what a uniquely gifted talent he was:

The Times' Alex Lowe shared his own startling statistic to provide the same effect:

Clinching this year's World Cup serves as the perfect manner for McCaw to take his leave of the sport, bowing out on the biggest stage of all and leading the All Blacks to back-to-back championships.

OptaJonny helped put into numbers exactly what k...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Rugby Union

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