Richie McCaw looks to break a tackle against England.
This article was originally published in the Herald on Sunday, on December 7, 2008
‘Struggled to assert himself in the early going as [referee Alain] Rolland blew the pea out of his whistle. Led from the front in the second half without ever dominating. 7/10.”
So went the rating by one newspaper analyst of All Black captain Richie McCaw after last weekend’s 32-6 grand slam-winning test over a pugnacious but ultimately unskilled England.
An accurate enough rating, although the reality is that McCaw is probably judged by higher standards than others.
They are standards he has himself set and which regularly see McCaw hailed as one of the, if not the greatest No 7 in All Black history.
These comparisons, as ever, are odious, as rugby has changed so much over the years that the game that Waka Nathan played was different to that played by Graeme Mourie and that played by Michael Jones and so on.
And so to McCaw. In a piece in this newspaper last year, three Herald on Sunday sportswriters had a crack at who was the best rugby player we had ever seen.
Again, it’s a difficult assignment - assessing different positions as well as different eras makes it wholly subjective. I plumped for Dan Carter on the grounds that he can and does regularly win matches by hurting the opposition in every possible way - kicking, running, scoring tries, goalkicking and sheer control of a match.
However, I said at the time that Carter just nudged out the great Michael Jones on the basis that Jones couldn’t kick goals. In many other respects, Jones was also the complete footballer - a great ball handler, runner and passer, a deceptively good lineout man and the possessor of one of the most lethal tackles known to man.
Back in 1993, at a one-off Bledisloe Cup test, new Wallaby first five-eighths Pat Howard discovered that fact.
Fielding a long Grant Fox dropout, Howard hesitated inside his 22. Jones had followed Fox’s kick and was hovering nearby, shepherding Howard’s movements, his arms typically spread wide - for all the world like the fins of a shark.
You could see Howard’s mind working - just a forward to beat, then I could start a counter-attack. New to international rugby, Howard didn’t quite realise he was taking on a phenomenon (“A freak”, as former All Black coach JJ Stewart had called Jones).
As Howard shimmied left and ran right, Jones didn’t fall for the feint and hit Howard like a lion hits a gazelle. It was brutal, clinical and the work of a rugby player at the top of his game and in control of his gifts.
The Wallabies had to regroup near the stricken Howard, who was penalised for not releasing and Fox kicked the goal that set the All Blacks on the way to winning back the Bledisloe 25-10.
But while Jones still outrates McCaw as a runner and passer and devastating tackler, McCaw’s astonishing work-rate and genius at grabbing possession is beginning to sway judgement in his favour as the best-ever No 7.
This has not been a new revelation. Back in 2003, in that fateful World Cup semifinal in Sydney, McCaw showed some of the genius that Gregor Paul wrote about in this paper last week when discussing McCaw’s growth as a captain.
“McCaw is an instinctive player. His craft is all about timing and sensing things before they happen. The difference between McCaw and his peers is not just his stamina, strength over the ball and speed across the ground - it is his reading of the game, his ability to time his strike to perfection.”
Against the Wallabies in that 2003 semifinal, McCaw had quickly worked out that Wallaby centre Stirling Mortlock was making so much mincement out of makeshift centre Leon MacDonald that MacDonald had begun to resemble a Big Ben pie. From scrums and rucks, McCaw launched himself like a missile at the centres.
It was an exercise in speed and anticipation which was, it has to be said, not always successful. I couldn’t take my eyes off McCaw - marvelling at the ground he was covering, the speed of foot and thought and the execution of tackle and ball-burgling.
His work against England is a case in point. Below is a case study of McCaw’s match, one where he attended few lineouts, spent a lot of time in the backline and perhaps did not have as much work to do defensively as against a team more adept at attacking than England.
After specifically watching McCaw on the video, it is clear that he covered an enormous amount of ground - watching, waiting, assessing, analysing, predicting.
The same shark analogy as Jones comes to mind again - he circles the prey relentlessly, quickly moves in close and strikes.
If there wasn’t quite as much tackle/turnover ball delivered by McCaw as we have come to expect, it was maybe because England attacked the breakdown hard (especially in the first half) and they rarely moved the ball wide.
But he also runs far and wide, patrolling, often getting to multiple, consecutive rucks and consistently chases kicks, pressuring defenders and causing mistakes.
Still and all, here’s one man’s analysis of McCaw’s test against England. It does not pretend to cover all McCaw’s work there is much work done beyond the view of the TV cameras - but is a snapshot of what he achieves during what was, for him, a relatively “quiet” match.
1m: Chases opening kick (covers 30m).
1m: Tracks back return kick; follows Conrad Smith’s half-break into ruck (covers 35m).
1m: Chases Sitiveni Sivivatu kick (45m).
3m: Tackle on lead member of England rolling maul halts progress (10m).
4m: Chases Jimmy Cowan kick; regathers but knocks on in tackle (20m).
5m: Penalised for offside at a scrum (ball looked to be out and playable).
6m: Tracks long dropout by Dan Carter (40m).
6m: Lineout win but knocks on under pressure.
7m: Tracks England attack from scrum, first at ruck after Smith tackle (30m).
8m: Decoy runner in backline (10m).
9m: Tackles Toby Flood from lineout (10m).
10m: Shadows England attack across field; when ruck forms, drives hard over ball and wins penalty.
11m: Supports lineout drive by Jerome Kaino (5m).
11m: Attends ruck after Cowan dab (5m).
12m: Supports ruck after Ma’a Nonu run (15m).
13m: First receiver after Sivivatu run and ruck - gets dumped (5m) but All Blacks win penalty. (Carter penalty, All Blacks 3-0).
15m: Attacks Carter kick regathers ball; obstructed but knock-on ruled (15m).
17m: Flood penalty (3-3).
18m: On shoulder after Brad Thorn run (10m).
20m: Defence; hits ruck after Paul Sackey run and almost steals ball (10m).
21m: Tackles England No 8 Nick Easter; halts run (10m).
22m: Shadows English attack across field (25m).
23m: Supports Thorn run and enters ruck (5m).
24m: Fields long England dropout and sets up ruck (10m).
25m: From ruck, supports Smith dart (5m).
26m: Chases Carter kick (30m).
27m: Tracks England kick back (20m).
27m: Tackles Easter again (5m).
29m: Tackles Flood again; turns him, wins penalty (5m).
30m: Carter penalty (All Blacks 6-3)
31m: Attends ruck after Carter run (15m).
33m: Follows up Carter kick (30m).
35m: Carter penalty (All Blacks 9-3).
36m: Attends defensive ruck as England forwards threaten (20m).
37m: Tracks All Black kick upfield (35m).
38m: Carter penalty (12-3).
39m: Flood penalty (12-6).
38-40m: General play (40m).
Halftime
40m: Trails good Easter burst, tackles England hooker Lee Mears (50m).
41m: Defence - attends two rucks in quick succession (30m).
42m: Tackles fl anker Michael Lipman; hard on defence, helps win turnover (10m).
43m: Runs and passes as All Blacks run out of defence; hits two rucks in a row (45m).
44m: Covers back to field England kick (30m).
47m: Tracks back another England kick but knocks on in possible early tackle (30m).
51m: Drives back England dropout and sets up ruck (20m).
52m: Tackles Easter from scrum (5m).
52m: Hits ruck after Carter kick (35m).
54m: Supports two rucks in quick succession from lineout (40m).
55m: Tackles Flood (15m).
56m: Pursues Nonu break, moves into halfback for pass from ruck (60m).
58m: Trails All Black attack for Mils Muliaina try (35m). (All Blacks 17-6.)
60m: Hits ruck after Cowan run; takes ball up and helps win penalty (25m). (Carter penalty, All Blacks 20-6).
62m: Field England kickoff and sets up ruck (5m).
63m: Tackle on fl anker James Haskell, wins penalty for thwarted turnover (5m).
64m: Attends two rucks in quick succession after Cowan break and Kieran Read run (60m; leads to second Muliaina try; All Blacks 25-6).
68m: Attends ruck from lineout (5m).
69m: Tackle on Riki Flutey (10m).
70m: Tackle on Sackey from lineout (10m).
71m: Supports defensive ruck (20m).
72m: Hits defensive ruck which leads to Nonu’s runway try (20m).
(All Blacks 32-6.)
73m: Takes kickoff but knocks on.
75m: Tackles Haskell from scrum (5m).
77m: Tackle on halfback Harry Ellis (10m).
78m: Tackle on Haskell (10m) but is penalised.
79-80m: General play (40m).
Summary
Tackles: 14
Rucks: At least 35
Errors: 3
Turnovers: 3
Penalties incurred: 2
Penalties earned: 2
Line breaks: 0
Kiwi schools have now won the tournament three years in a row.