Richie McCaw says being back in South Africa for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour has stirred some old emotions.
The legendary former All Blacks captain is in South Africa supporting his old team ahead of the four-Test series against the Springboks, and admitted that the occasion has left him longing for some of what he left behind when he retired more than a decade ago.
McCaw has not been back in South Africa since 2015, when he scored the winning try in his final Test in the country as New Zealand beat the Boks 27-20 at Ellis Park.
The stadium will host the opening Test of the Greatest Rivalry series next Saturday.
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For McCaw, however, his return has also highlighted one major regret from a career that included 148 Tests, 110 as captain and two World Cup triumphs.
“I never had the privilege of coming here and playing a full Test series against the Boks,” McCaw said during a conversation with rugby commentator Matthew Pearce at Discovery’s headquarters in Johannesburg this week. “It would have been nice to have had that privilege.”
McCaw knows all about the intensity of the rivalry, having faced the Boks 26 times and won 20 of those Tests.
His final victory against South Africa came in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, when the All Blacks won 20-18 at Twickenham before McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis Cup for a second successive time.
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Yet despite the remarkable success of his career, McCaw admitted that retirement did not immediately bring relief.
“I always say to people, the thing [rugby] that was the great love of my life also became a great burden later in my career,” he said. “But shortly after I retired, the longing for it was very strong.
“That anticipation in the week before a Test is what I miss the most. Where you turn up on a Monday and start putting in the work to make sure you deliver your best on Saturday.”
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Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images
The post RGR makes McCaw long for heat of battle appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Richie McCaw says being back in South Africa for the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour has stirred some old emotions.
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