Richie McCaw and finacee Gemma Flynn have snapped up a spectacular $2.5m Kiwi home ahead of their upcoming wedding. Photograph by Norrie Montgomery.
Richie McCaw and finacee Gemma Flynn have snapped up a spectacular $2.5m Kiwi home ahead of their upcoming wedding. Photograph by Norrie Montgomery.
All Blacks great Richie McCaw and fiancee Gemma Flynn have splashed out on a spectacular $2.5m family home.
Property records show New Zealand's sporting power couple have snapped up a sleek, five-bedroom house in an upmarket part of Christchurch.
With wedding bells just around the corner after the pair's January engagement, the executive home's listing described the property as "supremely elegant" and "boasting a blue chip address, in zone for top schools."
Complete with sauna, swimming pool, under-floor heating, walk-in closet and two living rooms, the elegant property bathes in natural light thanks to full length windows around much of the ground floor.
Outside, an 800 square-metre section features a landscaped garden, generous decking and plenty of lawn space for "ease of living and entertaining."
Real estate agent, Cameron Bailey, declined comment on the property, which was this year valued at a CV of $2,480,000.
For former All Blacks captain McCaw, who turns 36 on New Years Eve, it's the latest addition to an impressive investment portfolio which now stands at seven properties.
Black Sticks hockey star Flynn, 26, moved in with McCaw in late 2014.
It's not known when they will tie the knot, but Flynn recently appeared on reality TV show Say Yes to the Dress to help find the perfect dress - saying she has a budget of up to $8000 for something "classic, elegant" but also "something timeless" with "X-Factor and wow".
Flynn has been seen constantly by McCaw's side since he retired in 2015. His decision to step from rugby came after leading the All Blacks into the history books as the first team to win consecutive World Cups.
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In August, the pair swapped the sports field for the red carpet and the world premiere of Chasing Great in Auckland - the documentary charting McCaw's rise from schoolboy to international rugby legend.
McCaw, who works as a pilot for Christchurch Helicopters - which he co-owns - put his new line of work to noble use recently, joining the deadly Kaikoura earthquake rescue effort by flying rescue and reconnaissance missions.
"Like everyone else, I got woken up at midnight... yeah a bit scary," McCaw told the Herald.
At first light, he helped fly two USAR teams to Kaikoura where one person died in a collapsed house.
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"From there, we took the Fire Service just north and south of Kaikoura to check out all the slips and make sure everyone was accounted for," he said.
From the air, McCaw said he saw "big cracks in the road, cracks in the side of the hills, and obviously slips".
"At one point, the railway was way out over the sea - it had been pushed out by slips. It would not have been a nice place to be at midnight last night."
He added: "Just from a selfish point of view, it's nice to be able to fly but you'd like to be able to do it in better circumstances."
