Rugby World Cup 2015 final: All Blacks captain Richie McCaw refuses to drawn on retirement

Name: All Blacks: McCaw 'as long as we win'
Uploaded: 2015-10-30T08:49:55+13:00
Duration: 259 s
Description: All Blacks captain doesn't care how the Rugby World Cup final goes Sunday morning,'as long as we win' he says. McCaw also isn't thinking about his or other senior players retirement with all his attention going into preparing himself and his team to play the Wallabies.

NZ Herald

29 Oct, 2015 03:08 PM4 mins to read

All Blacks captain doesn't care how the Rugby World Cup final goes Sunday morning,'as long as we win' he says. McCaw also isn't thinking about his or other senior players retirement with all his attention going into preparing himself and his team to play the Wallabies.

Richie McCaw says the only advantage he and the other All Blacks involved in the last World Cup final can take from their experience is knowing how hard it is going to be to win at Twickenham on Sunday.

McCaw is one of eight members of the team who started in the 2011 World Cup final named to play against Australia - the others are Owen Franks, Keven Mealamu, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Two others, Ben Franks and Sonny Bill Williams, were on the reserves bench.

"The only thing you take out of being in a final before is how deep you have to dig to get across the line," McCaw said. "That's the only thing you know. At some point - and last week we had a bit of it - it comes down to making sure you win one or two moments which could be the difference, and Saturday may be exactly that.

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"You look at all the teams that have won - they've had to dig pretty deep, and that's what we know we're going to have to do this week. It's not about doing something magical, it's about doing your job when it counts."

Earlier, coach Steve Hansen talked about the importance of experience in a team. The All Blacks' squad has 1,339 test caps in total, with an average age of 28. "It doesn't matter what you do in life, experience is massive," he said.

"There are two types of experience - the ones you learn from and the ones you don't - so hopefully we've learned enough.

"When you have got experience, and that experience is in good form, I think it is a big advantage."

McCaw, meanwhile, refused to be drawn on whether he was about to play the final game of his career.

"I've purposely not gone into that because I wanted to make sure I didn't get hung up in what could be or might be. At this tournament I was keen to turn up as if I still had games to come.

"I'll have to make a decision when I get home and Tewy [New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew] said there's still a spot there if I really wanted it. It's something down the track - I really want to play this tournament and this weekend as best as I can. You've still got to do the same things you do if you're going to play for years ahead and not think this is the last time, last time. That hasn't entered my head this week at all.

"I've made no secret of the fact that I'm going to have a good reflection on things but I just want to get this week right."

All Blacks:
15. Ben Smith, 14. Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ma'a Nonu, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Daniel Carter, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Kieran Read, 7. Richie McCaw (c), 6. Jerome Kaino, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Joe Moody. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Ben Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Victor Vito, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Beauden Barrett, Sonny Bill Williams.

Wallabies
15. Israel Folau, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Bernard Foley, 9. Will Genia; 8. David Pocock, 7. Michael Hooper, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Rob Simmons, 4. Kane Douglas, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Stephen Moore (c), 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: Tatafu Polota-Nau, James Slipper, Greg Holmes, Dean Mumm, Ben McCalman, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Kurtley Beale.

- Patrick McKendry in London