KEY POINTS:
All Black captain Richie McCaw, who has been sinbinned once in his 54 tests, says he is not confused about his rights at the breakdown.
McCaw takes the rising Tri-Nations complaints about his play as a compliment and says he does not have any solutions to help match officials adjudicate on the most contentious area.
Is McCaw a cheat? Here is a selection of Your Views:
PD (Wainuiomata, now Sydney)
Hi Paul in Sydney, Crikey! I am confused by your logic, the (admittedly meagre) Australian reporting of rugby by journalists is heavily slanted toward the McCaw is a cheat line. It is those who do not choose to shrug their shoulders and get on with life who perpetuate a view which they never support with facts based on specific events within a game. Surely if "they" could, be "they" being the press or indeed even the ARU, SARFU, RFU, WRU, etc, would prepare and present evidence of this "cheating" to the IRB or through their media. I was not criticising the media or even Australians for not taking more notice of rugby or Richie McCaw. Spot the difference? My point was to not attack the press, it is their job to generally be a little biased to their home readership/viewers - the bigger issue is here that moaning players and officials are levelling a pretty heavy accusation on the referees (not McCaw as most everyone seems to agree that a player should do what they can) that they are scared, corrupt or incompetent in the decisions they make on McCaw. This would hint at a scandal of Italian proportions that should be uncovered by the press if it existed!
Ms Auckland
Of course Richie is not a cheat. He's one of the greatest All Blacks ever, and don't ever forget that.
Ra (Tok)
Of course he does, any decent number 7 has to play as close to or over the advantage line to be effective! McCaw, Smith, Holah, are experts! Graham Mourie used to live in the oppositions backline he was looked on as one of the best! Maybe this is what's wrong with our game! Question: I would like to ask why is it from one perspective we call it cheating, and from another point of view we say they are cunning or brilliant? Depends on whose side you are on!
Paul (Sydney)
PD, yet another Kiwi residing in Oz, makes a feeble attempt to claim there is a bias in the reporting of rugby matters in Australia. Quote: "I live in Australia and I have never seen the ridiculously one-eyed press here be able to prepare a highlights package of this cheating." The truth is the vast majority don't know who McCaw is, don't follow rugby and if the Wallabies are defeated will simply shrug their shoulders and get on with life. Spot the difference PD?
Yvette
No Richie is certainly no cheat, but the envy of every other international rugby side. The SA Skaulk Burger is very good in the same position as is Aussie's no. 7 George Smith and some of the Aussie backline, talent we'd all love to have injected into our own team to boost our chances of victory. It's the referees expert job to judge fair or unfair play and he gets paid handsomely for it, though they make human error because they have only timing of a nano second to make consistent calls in fast play, two eyes which ideally need to stay focused on the play at hand and two legs to carry him everywhere on the field to effectively judge the play in action. Humanly impossible to be perfect at this all the time. Both the touch judges, who also must be on the ball consistently to judge a fair match are crucial to the game also. The video ref should be used as necessary and it's a judgment call to weigh up whether or not we'd be spending too much time on detail, as you don't want to slow down the game unnecessarily. In the end it's the general gist of who the better side is on the day, who deserves to win and which side wants it more than the other which decides rugby internationals, but it's still an evolving game, please don't let it change too much. I love you Ritchie.
Thomas Crosbie (nine-years-old)
I think Richie McCaw is just playing his game.
All Black and proud
As I have lived in Australia for 25 years it has become very obvious to me that Australians love their sport (when they are winning). It is sad to say that the Australian sporting public are very bad losers. If Richie McCaw decided tomorrow he wanted to become an Australian he would be a national treasure by the end of the month. Aussies, stop making excuses just in case you lose on the weekend and enjoy what will be a titanic battle between the two greatest teams in the world. So is Richie McCaw a cheat or is he a champ? I say champ and I think his on field record confirms this. Go Black!
Burt
Stop whinging you jealous people. If anything Richie gets a raw deal from refs. If you actually slow down some of the play where he has been penalised in the last few TN games it has actually been the ref at fault. In at least one key instance from both of the last two games Richie was the tackler, then on his feet while playing the ball and then penalised for whatever reason. If any of the TN teams could choose at least one All Black that they could have for themselves who the hell do ya reckon they'd choose? The boys are looking all good for the WC and will waste the Ockers this weekend!
John l
Ritchie McCaw is of the same ilk as Sean Fitzpatrick. As a sledger, Sean kept his actions beyond the hearing of the ref. Ritchie continually pushes the rules and often infringes. So what, both are game winners. After all the All Blacks are out to win at all costs as the great line out cheat Andy will tell you.
Greg
Richie McCaw is just smarter than the others at the breakdown because he understands the rules. Because he then uses the rules to his and the ABs advantage doesn't make him a cheat. It makes him better than the rest. So the answer is simple, others should read the rules and modify their play. If not the real answer has to be all the refs who don't penalise Richie are cheats and biased and those refs are from Aussie, South Africa, England, Ireland, France...
Pam (Sydney)
Well um, according to the Australians I talk rugby to the answer to whether or not Richie is a cheat, is a resounding yes. Being a Richie fan I am somewhat bemused by that call too, that may be the Kiwi in me not seeing what they apparently see. Quite frankly I still think Richie's speed to the breakdown and work at the breakdown isn't appreciated enough and a lot of our rivals just don't see it. I'm also amazed at his ability to read the play and at times it looks like he knows what's going to happen next whether his team has got the ball or the opposition has it. Yes he does play to the extreme and at times right on the borderline, but isn't that what he's supposed to do in his position? So my answer to whether or not our captain is a cheat, it's a resounding no, but if he is a cheat, isn't he bloody good at it! Just ask any ref Muller and Connolly!
Anton Vernall (Seattle)
Why does everybody say this critique comes from the opposition? I'm a kiwi and played no 7 my whole rugby life. It's not difficult to know that a no7's main role is to arrive at the break down first after a set piece, as he is the most free of all the forwards playing on the open side. Simple. The rules state that the tackler is the only player that can enter in from the opposition side of the tackle area, but only before the ruck is formed. These rules make it crucial for a competitive no7 to either arrive at the tackle first and enter in from his own side and use his hands whilst on his feet before the ruck is formed. Or be the tackler and get back on his feet entering from either side before the ruck is formed. So here's the big problem. Richie is never there first from set piece when playing No7 specialists like Waugh, Smith, Holah etc. ie Brumbies, Chiefs in the final 2 rounds of the Super 14 McCaw was out played with no turn overs, failing to arrive first at the tackle and was repeatedly warned for infringing and even yellow carded. Don't say he is unfairly penalised because he is so great, he was never there first, arriving a split second late causes a player to push the rule book. Case and point. This one and only part of the game enabled the Brumbies, Chiefs and Aus to regain possession at the dying stages of the game to take the win. And if you think Masoe can compete at this level you just have to listen to the explanation of the Wellington coach for not fielding Masoe against Waikato. "We need a real specialist 7 to compete against Holah" enough said. This is the biggest weakness in the All Blacks and I am predicting it will cost us the WC and probably the Bledisloe/Tri-Nations. Stop looking at McCaw's effort and start focusing on his ineffectiveness.
LV
Yes Ritchie Macaw is a cheat, so what! Every other number 7 in international rugby also cheats. Let's not try and make out he's a saint on the field and that he doesn't cheat and that its only the opposition who cheat. We've had enough of that jingoistic talk during the America's Cup. The rules of rugby are so ambiguous and open to multiple interpretations that it's imposable for any number 7 not to cheat, Macaw included.
Bruce
McCaw is cannot be classified as a cheat given the subjectivity in interpreting and applying the relevant law. It's simply not understood nor applied with any consistency from one referee to the next. My biggest concern is that all this talk will have an adverse affect at the Rugby World Cup, and I for one will not be in the least surprised if McCaw is carded in each of the play-off games.
Graeme
No, the All Black skipper is not a cheat, it's just the refereeing that is shocking and it has been for a couple of years now.
Sione (Auckland)
Yes he is when he's wearing Red & Black, no he's not when it's just Black. Really Oz or SA would love to have McCaw just like I wish we had Tuqiri or Matfield and because Richie is so good those two unions would back him to the hilt and wouldn't even listen to any of our complaints against him.
Greg
Richie is an awesome exponent of open side play, who hits the offensive player with force, gets back to his feet in the same motion - much the same a Tana did - then rips the ball clean. A pleasure to watch! Bring it on Richie!
Scrumma (Perth)
What a joke - the man is the best at his game New Zealand breeds legends in all positions, look at all the great openside flankers we've produced, Micheal Jones, Paul Henderson, Leeam Barry, Mike Brewer, Josh Kronfeld, even Duane Monkely was a legend but not an All Black and that's only from the late 80s to the new millennium and now Ritchie has filled big shoes in his time with the All Blacks the question is who's next.
Mark (Auckland)
No he is not a cheat. I'm sure if MaCaw was born in SA or Aust or England etc, those nations would not call him a cheat. At least he is not annoying like Gregan.
Emy (Australia)
Just keep going as you have Richie, it will all blow over and next week they will be whinging about someone else and something else! Jealousy is a curse and it's the fact that you are so good that people will try to bring you down. It's when they stop talking about that you need to worry. Good luck on Sat guys xx
Greg
Richie McCaw is just smarter than the others at the breakdown because he understands the rules. Because he then uses the rules to his and the AB's advantage doesn't make him a cheat. It makes him better than the rest, so the answer is simple. Others should read the rules and modify their play. If not the real answer has to be all the ref's who don't penalise Richie are cheats and biased and those refs are from Aussie South Africa England Ireland France.
Chris (Johannesburg)
The question is not whether McCaw is a cheat or not. A good flanker should test the rules to limit and if he breaks the rules and get away with it - well, good for him. The real issue is that the refs (for whatever reason) do not penalise him for the same offences others get sin-binned for. (Maybe that is what makes him that good.)
PD (Wainuiomata, now Sydney)
Regardless of whether or not McCaw is correctly pinged or not, the standard complaints from referees, coaches, and journalists all infer that referees are either; cheating, incompetent or corrupt for allowing (the "aura" of) McCaw to affect their decisions. The last comments from the South Africans hint at a global conspiracy across the entire IRB officaldom! Eh? I live in Australia and I have never seen the ridiculously one-eyed press here be able to prepare a highlights package of this cheating, sure they may point out the odd "mistake" that is missed, but surely if this was as consistent as the complaints allege they could present hours of McCaw cheat highlights, or even a grainy video of McCaw handing over an envelope behind the stands! I see all this furore as an attempt to shift attention away from the real scandal in World Rugby, the anti-Wainiuomata bias that has removed Piri & Neemia from the starting XV!
Fly Kiwi Fly
Oh please dont do anything. I like the Kiwi dollars to be high. I enjoyed travelling overseas with the high kiwi dollars. I love buying imported goods. Oh they are so so cheap. I love ordering my stuffs from ebays, amazon because they are so so cheap. Keep Flying Kiwi Dollars, Keep flying.
JR (Wellington)
Its a professional game and players from every country will push the laws to the limit. We can't expect anything less. So if we want to claim others "cheat" (and I can think of English, French, South African and Australian players that we have pointed the finger at over the past 12 months), then surely we can be adult enough to accept others will point the finger at us occasionally. And especially forwards, who due to the laws of the game have more ability to play on the limits.
Steve - Bok Supporter.
Richie McCaw is no more a 'cheat' than other number 7s. It is almost the loose forwards job to cheat. Our complaint is that McCaw is getting away with the same stuff that other great loose forwards are getting penalised for. I saw last weeks game and McCaw would do illegal tactics in front of the ref and not get penalised, but then Wannenburg gets sent off for being the first man to the ball, on his feet. Schalk Burger is as good, if not better than McCaw in the loose forward department (he did get IRB player of the year) and yet I am certain his penalty and yellow card stats must far outweigh McCaws. What we are asking for is equal reffing - I have no problem with McCaws game. I'm sure you AB Fans out there would want the same.
Waikato Girl
No way!I see people moaning about him, but we all know this is plain and simple jealousy! Go Richie! Have all my support.
NR (Sydney)
Bit of a Freudian slip there, for Richie - "hopefully I should get away with it". Yeah, you just keep hoping. And what about Steve Hansen's comments, that any perceived infringements "must be an optical illusion". This bloke's living in fairy-land. I suggest Richie gets a hair cut and the whole squad takes a good long look at the Bledisloe Cup - cause it's coming back to Oz in a couple of days. I'm expecting the NZRU to be advertising their trophy cabinet on eBay sometime in October this year - "Will ets no use whin ets impty!"
Go you Wallabies!
Sam (Sydney)
In the words of Ken Stewart, "no infringement occurs until you are caught". In other words no Ritchie McCaw doesn't cheat. Test rugby is a game watched by 10 million people who need the exercise and played by 30 men who need a break. Us 10 million believe we know the rules, we believe we know what is happening but only the ref can determine who is cheating, most referees are honest men who know the rules better than us and are right there. I like most viewers get confused by some calls (how is it that some Australian and South African referees always call ruck formed when only one side has players there). Neutral refs have nothing to gain from turning a blind-eye to illegal play and risk losing their job for bad calls. In any sport teams try to put influence on the ref and at least we have neutral refs, otherwise you would have the situation where only Australian umpires call no ball to Murili when he is playing Australia (only to never ref again).
Blatant cheating is caught and penalised, repeated cheating forms reputations and gets penalised often and over-policed.(Ask Butch James a few years back) If Ritchie's was cheating he would be penalised, he isn't so doesn't cheat.
Riley Boy
Honestly, everyone is jealous of how Rich iz daman. Not a fan of his when it comes to Super 14 but when it comes to the All Blacks he's the man! He's set a new standard for the no.7 jersey. He's a tuff guy and iz fit and that's what gets him to the breakdown in a sec when you watch him you will see he's never walking and he's constantly at every breakdown, so big ups to you Rich.
Michelle (North Shore)
Hell no, Richie does not cheat! He is just an incredible player!
