Richie McCaw – Sportsman of the Decade
Since its starting in 1960, the Halberg Awards have been a shining beacon for New Zealand’s sporting elite. Named after Olympic champion Sir Murray Halberg, the pre-eminent event highlights sporting at its greatest. On Wednesday 24 March, in a star-studded event in Auckland, the Supreme winners from the past decade (2010 to 2019) were announced. Selected by prominent athletes, coaches, admin and sports media, the nominees included familiar names such as Hamish Bond, Eric Murray, Lisa Carrington and Richie McCaw. Though Richie hung up the footie boots in 2015, after leading the All Blacks through the hard yards to World Cup victory, his outstanding successes up to that point had placed him firmly as one of the country’s greatest sportsmen. That was made all the more official when he was awarded Sportsman of the Decade at the awards.
World-wide, the man was (and very much is still) considered the greatest openside flanker to ever grace a rugby field with a unique ability to anticipate play and adaptability for the game. Raised in rural South Canterbury before moving to Dunedin to board at Otago Boys’ High School, it’s no surprise that the man was destined to be a star. McCaw really got his rugby studs firmly dug into the ground in 1999 when he was selected to play in the national under-19, the under-21s a year later and Canterbury in the National Provincial Championship (NPC), before debuting in 2001 for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
In 2001, McCaw was selected for the All Blacks’ end-of-year tour, where he played against Ireland and was awarded the man-of-the-match. It was with much work and determination with his impressive skill on the field that, three years later, he was appointed captain of the team. He played 68 of his 148 test matches for the All Blacks and he was captain for all but one, against Namibia at the 2015 Rugby World Cup – with a record of 61 wins, two draws and five losses. It was also in his captaincy that the team went on to win consecutive Rugby World Cup titles in 2011 and 2015. That put him in an elite handful of rugby players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
In typical Richie McCaw style, in his acceptance speech he took the spotlight from himself and thanked the team he’d been a part of. “You can’t win a prize like this without teammates,” he said. “I was lucky to be part of the team in 2011 and 2015 where I played with some special players.”
In spite of McCaw’s sporting achievements, he might also be the most humble sportsman of the decade too.