Richie McCaw's quiet day in the All Blacks office revisited – Herald sports classic
Richie McCaw wants to break a tackle against England.
This article was originally published in the Herald on Sunday, December 7, 2008
“I had difficulty asserting myself in the early stages [referee Alain] Rolland blew the pea from his pipe. Lead by
ahead in the second half without ever dominating. 7/10.”
That was the assessment of All Black captain Richie McCaw by a newspaper analyst after last weekend's 32-6 Grand Slam victory over a combative but ultimately unqualified England.
An accurate enough assessment, although in reality McCaw is probably judged by higher standards than others.
They are standards that he has set himself and that result in McCaw being regularly hailed as one of, if not the, greatest No.7s in All Blacks history.
These comparisons are, as always, distasteful as rugby has changed so much over the years that the game Waka Nathan played was different to Graeme Mourie's and Michael Jones's etc.
And so to McCaw. In an article in this newspaper last year, three sports journalists from the Herald on Sunday asked who was the best rugby player we had ever seen.
Again, this is a difficult task – assessing different positions and different eras makes it completely subjective. I chose Dan Carter because he can and does win games on a regular basis by hurting the opposition in every way possible – kicking, running, scoring, scoring, and just controlling a game.
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However, I said at the time that Carter only replaced the great Michael Jones on the grounds that Jones couldn't score goals. In many ways, Jones was also the perfect football player – a great ball handler, runner and passer, a deceptively good lineout man and the owner of one of the deadliest tackles known to man.
Back in 1993, at a one-off Bledisloe Cup test, new Wallaby first five-eighth Pat Howard discovered this fact.
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Howard fielded a long dropout from Grant Fox and hesitated in his 22. Jones had followed Fox's kick and was hovering nearby, overseeing Howard's movements, his arms usually spread wide – for all the world like a shark's fins.
You could see Howard's mind working – just one striker had to be defeated before I could launch a counter-attack. Howard, new to international rugby, was not entirely aware that he was dealing with a phenomenon (“A freak,” as former All Black coach JJ Stewart had called Jones).
As Howard moved left and ran right, Jones didn't fall for the feint and hit Howard like a lion hits a gazelle. It was brutal, matter-of-fact and the work of a rugby player at his best and in control of his talents.
The Wallabies had to regroup around the stricken Howard, who was penalized for not getting going, and Fox scored the goal that put the All Blacks on their way to winning back the Bledisloe 25-10.
But while Jones still outperforms McCaw as a runner, passer and devastating tackler, McCaw's amazing work rate and ball-winning genius are beginning to sway the verdict in his favor as the best No. 7 of all time.
This was not a new revelation. In 2003, in the fateful World Cup semi-final in Sydney, McCaw showed some of the genius that Gregor Paul wrote about in this article last week when discussing McCaw's development as a captain.
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“McCaw is an instinctive player. His craft is all about finding the right time and feeling things before they happen. The difference between McCaw and his colleagues lies not only in his endurance, his strength on the ball and his speed on the floor, but also his understanding of the game and his ability to time his shot perfectly.”
Against the Wallabies in the 2003 semi-final, McCaw had quickly discovered that Wallaby center Stirling Mortlock was making so much of makeshift center Leon MacDonald that MacDonald was beginning to resemble a Big Ben cake. From scrums and rucks, McCaw shot into the centers like a rocket.
It was an exercise in speed and anticipation, but it wasn't always successful. I couldn't take my eyes off McCaw – I marveled at the ground he covered, the speed of his feet and mind, and the execution of tackles and ball attacks.
His work against England is a case in point. Below is a case study of McCaw's game, where he completed few lineouts, spent a lot of time in defense and perhaps didn't have as much work to do defensively as he did against a team more adept in attack than England.
If you look closely at McCaw in the video, it's clear that he covered a tremendous amount of ground – watching, waiting, evaluating, analyzing, predicting.
The same shark analogy as Jones' comes to mind again: it circles the prey relentlessly, closes in quickly and strikes.
If McCaw didn't produce quite as many tackles/turnovers as we expected, perhaps it was because England attacked hard on the counterattack (particularly in the first half) and rarely put the ball past the goal.
But he also runs far and wide, patrols, often manages to get to multiple consecutive rucks, constantly chasing kicks, putting pressure on defenders and causing errors.
Nonetheless, here is one man's analysis of McCaw's Test against England. It doesn't claim to cover all of McCaw's work, as much is done outside the view of the TV cameras – but rather it is a snapshot of what he achieved during what was, for him, a relatively “quiet” game.
McCAW'S MATCH
1m: Tracks the opening kick (over 30m).
1m: Tracks recoil; follows Conrad Smith's half break into the ruck (over 35 m).
1 minute: Follows Sitiveni Sivivatu's kick (45 meters).
3m: Tackling the leading English player with rolling punches stops progress (10m).
4m: Kick from Chase's Jimmy Cowan; collects himself, but continues in the tackle (20 m).
5 minutes: Penalty for offside during a scrum (the ball appeared to be out and playable).
6m: Tracks long dropout from Dan Carter (40m).
6m: Lineout win but he keeps going under pressure.
7 mins: Follows England's attack from the scrum, first in the ruck after Smith's tackle (30 mins).
8 m: Decoy runner in the backline (10 m).
9 m: Tackling Toby Flood from the lineout (10 m).
10m: Shadows England attack across the field; When a jerk forms, he drives over the ball hard and receives a penalty.
11 m: Supports Jerome Kaino's lineout push (5 m).
11 mins: Visit the Ruck after the Cowan-Dab (5 mins).
12m: Assists ruck after Ma'a Nonu run (15m).
13m: First receiver after Sivivatu run and ruck – is rejected (5m) but the All Blacks win the penalty. (Carter penalty, All Blacks 3-0).
15 m: Attacks Carter gets the ball back; disabled, but knock-on rule (15 m).
17th minute: Flooding penalty (3-3).
18m: On the shoulder after Brad Thorn's run (10m).
20 m: defense; hits ruck after Paul Sackey's run and almost steals the ball (10 m).
21m: Tackling England No.8 Nick Easter; Stop running (10m).
22m: Shadows English attack down the field (25m).
23m: Supports the Thorn run and enters the ruck (5m).
24m: Fields long England dropout and set up ruck (10m).
25 m: From the ruck Smith supports Dart (5 m).
26m: Chase's Carter kick (30m).
27 mins: Follows England's return (20 mins).
27 m: Tackle Easter again (5 m).
29 m: Another attack on Flood; turns it over, wins penalty (5m).
30 minutes: Carter penalty (All Blacks 6-3)
31m: Visits the ruck after the Carter run (15m).
33 m: Follows the kick from Carter (30 m).
35 minutes: Carter penalty (All Blacks 9-3).
36 mins: Watch the defensive hustle and bustle as the England strikers threaten (20 mins).
37m: Tracks All Black Kick Upfield (35m).
38 minutes: Carter penalty (12-3).
39 mins: Flooding penalty (12-6).
38-40m: General game (40m).
Half time
40 m: Leaves the good Easter Burst behind and attacks the English hooker Lee Mears (50 m).
41m: Defense – tackles two rucks in quick succession (30m).
42 m: Tackle against flanker Michael Lipman; Strong in defense, helps to score turnovers (10 m).
43 mins: Runs and passes as the All Blacks fall out of defence; hits two rucks in a row (45 m).
44 mins: Covers back to field England kick (30 mins).
47 mins: Holds back another England kick but swipes at a potential early tackle (30 mins).
51 mins: Beats back England's outsiders and sets up ruck (20 mins).
52m: Beats Easter out of the scrum (5m).
52 m: Hits jerk after Carter kick (35 m).
54m: Assisted two rucks in quick succession from the lineout (40m).
55 m: Cope with flooding (15 m).
56m: Follows the Nonu break, goes to the centre-back for a pass from the ruck (60m).
58m: Trails All Black attack for Mil's Muliaina try (35m). (All Blacks 17-6.)
60m: Hits jerk after Cowan run; picks up the ball and helps with the penalty shootout (25 m). (Carter penalty, All Blacks 20-6).
62m: Field England pushes and sets up ruck (5m).
63 m: Tackle against flanker James Haskell, receives penalty for thwarted loss of ball (5 m).
64m: Takes part in two rucks in quick succession after the Cowan break and Kieran Read's run (60m; leads to second Muliaina try; All Blacks 25-6).
68m: Handles the ruck out of the lineout (5m).
69 m: Tackle against Riki Flutey (10 m).
70 m: Tackle against Sackey from the lane (10 m).
71m: Supports defensive ruck (20m).
72m: Hits defensive ruck, leading to Nonu's runway attempt (20m).
(All Blacks 32-6.)
73 min: He takes the kick-off but continues to shoot.
75 m: Tackling Haskell from the crowd (5 m).
77 m: Tackle against halfback Harry Ellis (10 m).
78 m: Tackle against Haskell (10 m), but is penalized.
79-80 m: General game (40 m).
Summary
Duels: 14
Rucks: At least 35
Error: 3
Sales: 3
Penalties imposed: 2
Penalties earned: 2
Line breaks: 0
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