Richie McCaw after winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup final. Photo / Getty
Richie McCaw after winning the 2015 Rugby World Cup final. Photo / Getty
Sometimes, no matter what is riding on the result – even a major piece of silverware and the chance to do what no other nation has done – a test match is just fun and that's how Richie McCaw felt in the closing stages of the All Blacks v Wallabies World Cup final at Twickenham four years ago.
Four years earlier, McCaw couldn't wait for the final against France at Eden Park to finish and it's easy to understand why. Defending an 8-7 lead with a third or fourth choice first-five while enduring the pain of a broken foot and the hushed expectation of an entire nation, the final whistle couldn't come quickly enough.
But as the sun set on a pleasant autumn day in south west London at the 2015 edition of the tournament, McCaw just wanted to keep playing for the sake of it, knowing full well that this would be his last ever game of rugby. The final score was 34-17. What a way to go out.
"It was probably more enjoyable, to be fair," the former All Blacks captain told the Herald this week of his 148th and final test in typical understatement. "We didn't have as many challenges as we did four years earlier but we were still prepared for anything that came along.
"When the final whistle went – four years earlier it was pure relief - whereas in 2015 it was just satisfaction that we'd set out to do something that no team had done before and we were able to tick it off. It was ironic – at the end of that game I was sort of hoping it wouldn't finish because we were having a lot of fun. That's why you play the game."
Richie McCaw will travel to the World Cup in Japan in September in his capacity as a Mastercard ambassador. Photo / Greg Bowker
There's no doubt too that the lows of the 2007 failure in Cardiff played a big part in making the highs of 2011 and 2015 more special and a major reason for the successes in the last two tournaments were the All Blacks' ability to handle the mental strain that comes with World Cups.
Every player must deal with it in his own way. For McCaw, whose work with mental skills expert Ceri Evans is well documented, it was the mindset that he wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
"If you don't acknowledge there is pressure that goes along with World Cups it can get on top of you because it's there," he says. "It's there for everyone as well and it's whoever can deal with it best. If you're going to be the best team you want it to be tough, in a funny sort of way. If someone just handed out World Cup medals for not doing anything you wouldn't appreciate it.
"If the All Blacks are going to be world champions they've got to be tested in the toughest environment and the World Cup is that. You start to want to be in those environments. I remember the 2011 one; leading into the World Cup final that day – you knew what was at stake but you ask yourself 'where else would you rather want to be? Would you rather be wearing the All Black jersey at a World Cup final at Eden Park?' Of course you would, any kid growing up would rather do that.
"So why not go and get into it? And that changes your outlook from 'oh, no, what if it doesn't go our way, to actually, let's make sure it does go our way'."
McCaw, 38, long retired from the game now and a father too which he says has changed his outlook for the better, has stayed in excellent physical shape due to his near constant training for endurance events.
Richie McCaw with young local rugby players on Thursday morning. Photo / Greg Bowker
He has a few more lined up this year but will travel to the World Cup in Japan in September in his capacity as a Mastercard ambassador and expects the All Blacks to be one of about five teams capable of winning it. Putting it simply, he says the team that executes the best under the pressure of the three knockout games will win it. As he says, it's all about sustained excellence rather than the need to pull a metaphorical rabbit out of a hat.
And as for facing South Africa in the first pool game – potentially the toughest pool fixture the All Blacks have faced - McCaw doesn't believe it changes much.
"I think back to 2015 and we had a hell of a match against the Argentinians at Wembley. We had to be right on our game. We hadn't played any rugby for a couple of weeks and nor had they. We got a lot of lessons from that game – we got the win but it set us up pretty well.
"The All Blacks won't be worried about playing South Africa first-up. It's a great opportunity because you'll see where you are at leading into business time and there is that – not that you ever want to think of it – but it (a loss) is not the end of the world so you can do things and it's a chance to learn from it. It can set you up well."
Considered one of our greatest ever All Blacks for his ability, legacy and toughness, McCaw doesn't miss getting physically knocked around every weekend and during the week at training, but there is a side to the game that he does miss, and it's something that can't be replicated.
"The actual playing side – the physical and all that … I loved that when I was playing, but I actually don't miss that a lot," he says. "But I love that feeling of sitting in the changing room with your mates afterwards after having a week's prep or even longer sometimes and you've got the job done.
"You have your mates beside you and only they really know what it was like on the field; you can share those memories and that's the bit I've always loved and perhaps the bit I miss."
