Savour Richie McCaw’s last games
We are witnessing the final phase of the career of one of New Zealand’s truly greatest athletes. Over the next five weeks we will see the last of Richie McCaw’s phenomenal time as an All Black.
Many debate whether he is the greatest player of all time. I think we all agree that his name will be included in this ongoing debate for years to come. Since 2001 he has represented our country at the highest levels, that is 14 years in one of the most physically challenging positions in rugby, which is one of the most physically challenging sports in the world.
There is so much to admire in McCaw the rugby player. We’ve all heard about how he is always on top of the fitness testing within the All Blacks. How he maintains this year in, year out is incredible even as younger players come into the team.
The way he plays the game and shows 100 per cent commitment to being his best every single time and his professionalism is second to none both on and off the field. He’s obviously a great leader of men. Every team he has captained has continuously showed a neversay-die approach to the game often winning in the last 10 minutes. Winning is the main measure of any sporting person, and he has a mind-blowing nearly 90 per cent success rate.
One thing many of us will never understand is how much pressure there is on you when you are an All Black, let alone the All Black captain. I remember listening to Sir Graham Henry doing a talk a few years ago. He talked about how he believed that the All Blacks will dominate rugby for years to come and one of the main reasons for this belief was the extremely high expectation the New Zealand public puts on the All Blacks.
This public expectation and pressure is evident, just watch how the public responds to one All Black loss. McCaw has lived with this pressure for 14 years of his life and every time he has experienced a disappointment he has responded to this pressure by growing as a player and finding higher levels. Can you imagine what it would be like if the whole country judged you in your job, and if you weren’t nearly perfect every single moment they would be totally disappointed in you? How do you think you would respond?
There’s no wonder that our All Black captain is admired by so many people. It seems that in McCaw – the rugby player – we see the best in us.
He represents many of the best characteristics we would like to show to our world to the highest levels possible.
The truth is, there aren’t many people who live at the level he does in the areas they pursue in their lives. Here is a man who is committed to turning over every stone to get better and to continually do this no matter what the conditions or circumstances. I see McCaw as a hero. I may never get to the levels in my life that he has in rugby, but he stands as a reminder of what you can do when you have an attitude that chases the challenge in life.
Over the next few weeks we will experience all the drama and excitement of the Rugby World Cup and I imagine that we will be on an emotional rollercoaster as we watch our All Blacks move towards, and hopefully achieve, their goal of winning the Rugby World Cup.
If you choose to get on this rollercoaster with them, make sure you allow yourself some time to reflect upon and admire one of our true sporting heroes. This may be your last chance to do so.
There’s nothing I want more than to see McCaw hold the William Webb Ellis Cup above his head on October 31. If this happens, it would be the perfect exit to a phenomenal career of a man who has shown us what it means to aim for greatness.
Bevan James Eyles is a fitness professional who runs the training group extramilerunners.co.nz