Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'He was the best there's been': Richie McCaw rates the Wallabies' openside flankers he played against

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks and David Pocock of the Wallabies run off for half time during the Tri-Nations Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on August 6, 2011 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Former All Blacks captain and openside flanker Richie McCaw has opened up on the Australian opposites he faced during his storied career in Bledisloe battles.

ADVERTISEMENT

The 148-Test veteran faced the Wallabies at the peak of their powers in the early stage of his career, coming up against the likes of George Smith at a time when they held the Bledisloe Cup.

After his debut in 2001 on the end of year tour, McCaw was a part of the 2002 All Blacks side that lost to the Wallabies on a late penalty goal by Matt Burke which levelled the series 1-all.

Video Spacer
Video Spacer

As his career moved on, McCaw faced a number of opensides including Phil Waugh, Michael Hooper and David Pocock.

“You got to play against them fairly regularly and absolutely understood what you were up against,” McCaw told The All Blacks podcast.

“A guy like a George Smith, I first played, I think it was U19s, and I didn’t know he was, but I remember thinking after the game ‘Man, that guy knows what he’s doing’.

“And then it was that next year, he was playing for the Brumbies and played against the British & Irish Lions, a year later. He was a smart footballer, like he knew where to be and how to have an impact fairly regularly. And you had to be aware of what he could do. We had some good battles over the years, for a long time with him.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Then there was this Phil Waugh who was a slightly different player, but more confrontational. But, again, you knew what you’re going to get there.If you were a bit slow to the first phase break down, or whatever, they’d get in there and disrupt it. So you’d be pretty aware of that.”

McCaw had high praise for David Pocock who debuted in 2008 and played either at No 7 or No 8 throughout the rest of his career.

He said Pocock was “the best there’s been” over the ball at the breakdown and “impossible to move”.

“Then the latter years, David Pocock was, he was the best there’s been, probably still has been, able to contest the ball on the ground,” McCaw said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“And if you gave him even just a split second to get in there, he was almost impossible to move.

“And we did spend a bit of time on how do you limit his his ability to influence those sort of things? And to answer your question, you certainly knew who you were up against, and had to.

“But you didn’t want to get so focused on opposition player because if your whole team’s on top, you know, it limits their influence like that.

“But there’s a few little things that you had to just be aware of that, they can make the day, make your team’s day, a lot harder.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Boks Office | Episode 36 | Six Nations Round 3 Review

England A vs Ireland A | Full Match Replay

HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Men's Day Three Highlights

HSBC SVNS Vancouver | Women's Day Three Highlights

"I would love to play with Siya Kolisi" | HSBC Life on Tour | Vancouver

Kubota Spears vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | JRLO 2024/2025 | Full Match Replay

Behind the Scenes with the Stars of the Kenya Rugby Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | Episode 7

O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 3 | France Week

Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

3 Comments
L
LB 160 days ago

Imagine a southern XV of Pocock at 6, McCaw at 7 and Kwagga Smith at 8 or off the bench no mercy

D
DS 160 days ago

Plenty of great 7s. Some brilliant tacklers and ball stealers. Others great links in the backline and / or always there at the breakdown. Some the best cheats!

W
Willie 160 days ago

If it's not caught it's not cheating

Load More Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
JW 1 hour ago
Where is the new breed of All Black 10?

LOL angry at what? You trying to put words into peoples mouths with your wild theories? No I’m well used to that by now mate.

ou should stop making silly comments like ‘a very small set of examples’ if you don’t want ppl to call you out and start taking you seriously!

I have no idea what you’re talking about.

FYI he’s started at 10 53 times since 2020/21 in all comps.

Yes, as I’ve said. 38 of those times were (SR) after Mo’unga left for Japan, and possibly even the 8 times for Waikato (even though on a ‘sabbatical’ he was still made to play NPC after returning from Japan for some reason) were because NZR told him he had to switch because Richie was leaving.


I can’t really make sense of what you’re trying to argue but all I can think I said was;

He’s only got a very small set of examples so understandable people don’t immediately adjust to him as the best in the world

I’m referring to international fans, who are only really going to watch the All Blacks, so yes, it’s them trying to compare his games last year to what they imagine he played like as a fullback for so long. Outside that, he’s played say now 45 odd times since he made the switch, and only 30 odd (thanks to a full SR season there) of the past 150 before that, you’re idea that it makes him a first five and therefor not still learning, is “entirely false”


If you want people to start taking you seriously Nick you really need to up your debating game! No seriously though I know I like to avoid explaining things for dummies but you very rarely have the right take on any of my theories, you’ve just got you’re own angle that takes over, so don’t expect to be able to debate much (as it will be by yourself basically lol). I suspect it’s something to do with needing to keep a lot of things in your mind for your articles that it’s probably impossible for you to just listen and not introduce outside noise, so no biggie.

164 Go to comments
J
Jacob Brown 1 hour ago
Crusaders prepare for 'dangerous in all elements' Chiefs game-breaker

Never have I  ever missed my favorite crypto podcast. There was this one episode where the guest was over the moon about Asset Rescue Specialist. I made a mental note, never thinking that I would ever need them. That changed when a malware attack wiped my $500,000 wallet clean. One minute I was going through my portfolio; the next, it was zero. My heart sank. I checked everything: my security logs, transaction history, even my device settings. That is when I saw it: unauthorized transfers draining my entire balance. Panic hit hard.I scrambled for solutions, frantically searching through forums, threads on Reddit, and tech support pages. But deep down, I knew this wasn't something so simple to fix. Then, in the middle of my chaos, that podcast episode remembered itself. He spoke of Asset Rescue Specialist with such confidence that I decided to trust his experience.It was one of the smartest things I could have done, reaching out to Asset Rescue Specialist. Since the very first message, they were calm, methodical, and reassuring. They made all the right questions and quickly diagnosed how the malware had invaded my wallet. Their team dove head-first into an advanced forensic recovery process while teaching me what went wrong.I was skeptical: how do you reverse a theft that's already happened? But they knew what they were doing. Their precision, their expertise, and just the determination to see it through blew me away. Then, the message changed everything: "We've recovered your funds." I couldn’t believe it. My $500,000 was back. My relief was indescribable. They didn’t just stop there—they fortified my security, patched vulnerabilities, and gave me a plan to ensure this never happens again.That podcast episode? Changed my life. Never thought casual listening would save my portfolio. Now, I don't listen for insights but for survival tips. And for whoever reads, let me share a piece of advice: you needn't wait for the worst to happen. Know who you are going to call before it's time.FOR MORE INFO:Company: ASSET RESCUE SPECIALISTWebsite info; https://assetrescuespecialist.com mail: assetrescuespecialist@qualityservice.com orsupport@assetrescuespecialist.com.WhatsApp:+ 1 9 0 3 5 5 9 1 7 3 3. 

4 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Does a crowd have the right to boo their team if they're not being entertained? Does a crowd have the right to boo their team if they're not being entertained?
Search