Richie McCaw and wife Gemma’s dream Wānaka home revealed in new photo

Richie McCaw says the building team behind his dream Wānaka home made the whole process 'easy'. Photo / Supplied

Rugby royalty Richie McCaw has revealed the first picture of the dream home he has had built in Wānaka with hockey star wife Gemma.

He can be seen standing in front of the home’s distinctive schist stone exterior, with full-length windows rising up behind him to a cathedral ceiling.

McCaw thanked his building team who posed beside him in the post on his social media page, saying he can’t wait to “move in for Christmas”.

“The finished house is amazing, and we really appreciate the care taken and how easy they made the whole project,” he said.

The post follows ex-Black Sticks star Gemma’s Instagram announcement earlier this month that after 10 years in Christchurch, the couple were set to move to Central Otago.

“It’s time to say goodbye to Christchurch as we embark on a new adventure in Wānaka. For the past 10 years, this city has been my home,” Gemma posted, alongside a picture of Richie and the couple’s young children at the beach.

“It’s where we welcomed our three beautiful girls into the world, and where I arrived knowing only a handful of people and now leave with lifelong friends.”

Richie McCaw and wife Gemma McCaw. Photo / George Novak

“I’ll miss so much about this city, but most of all, I’ll miss my people,” Gemma posted.

She said the family were “very excited” about the move and a “lifestyle full of adventure that awaits”.

“It’s everything we’ve dreamed of for raising our girls, and we can’t wait to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world.”

The couple welcomed their third daughter, Ella Mae McCaw, in April last year. Baby Ella joined sisters Charlotte and Grace, born in 2018 and 2021 respectively.

While Gemma was born in Tauranga, Richie was raised in Oamaru and spent much of his rugby career playing for the Crusaders.

Gemma moved to Christchurch with her now-husband in 2014.

The couple married on January 14, 2017, at The Olive Grove in Wānaka.

Before they tied the knot, the Herald reported the high-profile pair had splashed out on a spectacular $2.5 million, five-bedroom family home in an upmarket part of Christchurch.

In October 2023 the Herald reported the pair were building a new multimillion-dollar riverside mansion at Hāwea Flat, which started construction last year. The property, near Wānaka, is 12,670sq m, with a land value cited by Queenstown Lakes District Council of $1.6 million.

Consent documents show plans for Richie and Gemma's new house near Wānaka.

Planning documents seen by the Herald last year showed plans for a “large single-storey dwelling with simple gable roof forms” in a high wind zone.

“The materials proposed are natural schist stone, vertical cedar shiplap timber and Espan 340 profile Coloursteel roofing on a 35-degree pitch,” according to a report by an urban designer and landscape architect.