British media give All Blacks high praise

NZ Herald

16 Aug, 2015 09:34 PM2 mins to read

Richie McCaw isn't a man given over to emotional scenes but admitted he left the Eden Park pitch with a lump in his throat as the crowd stood as one to applaud him tonight. His last test in New Zealand, his 142nd to create a world record, a thumping Bledisloe Cup victory after the disappointment of last weekend - it was nearly all too much for the man who must be considered one of the greatest All Blacks ever.

The accolades have rolled in from the other side of the world for All Black legends and Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.

Sir Ian McGeechan, an icon of the British Lions, has labelled McCaw "the best back row-player I have ever seen - there is no doubt about that"

The former Scottish international back said New Zealand had produced "a few decent back-row players over the years with the number seven position being the superstar position in that country.

"What I like about McCaw is that he is so humble. He is the ultimate role model, in any sport," McGeechan wrote in the UK Telegraph.

In the same paper, chief sports feature writer Oliver Brown said Carter reasserted himself as the "alpha male among fly halves" in the Bledisloe Cup game at Eden Park.

"With a smile as broad as the Tasman Sea, Dan Carter revelled in the rebuke he had just given to those with the temerity to doubt him. Past it...not on the evidence of this exhibition. His inspiration coloured every facet of New Zealand's 41 -1 3 demolition of Australia."

Of nearly 400 respondents to a poll asking if Carter was the greatest No. 10 ever, 83 per cent said yes.