Former All Blacks captain Richie McCaw's message for disgraced Australian cricketers

All Blacks great Richie McCaw has given some sage advice to the disgraced Australian cricket team – but admitted he was unsure whether they would recover from the ball-tampering scandal that has plagued the sport for over two weeks.

McCaw, 37, visited the Fairfield School in Dunedin as part of Fonterra's Milk for Schools programme and told students gathered for assembly that being a good sportsman wasn't as important as being a good person.

"Respect the opposition, play hard, and respect what the game is all about . . . that was a big part of who we were," McCaw said of his 148 tests with the All Blacks.

"And dare I say it perhaps that is where the Australian cricket team has gone wrong . . . but enough said about that."

The former All Blacks captain, who retired from rugby in late 2015, said one of the great things about the game was the ability to "bash the hell out of each other for 80 minutes and then you shake hands", Stuff reported.

"We always made sure we had time in the changing sheds afterward because that is what sport is about."

That message may have been "missed a little bit" by Steve Smith's squad.

Smith and David Warner were sacked as Australian test captain and vice-captain respectively, and handed 12-month bans for their part in attempts to change the condition of the ball during last month's third test against South Africa in Cape Town.

Both Smith and Warner have issued public apologies for their conduct while Darren Lehmann stepped down as coach amidst a Cricket Australia investigation into the team's culture.

According to Stuff, McCaw, a former student at Otago Boys High, was asked whether the Australians could come back from the scandal, to which he replied: "They have to . . . time will tell".