Strangled McCaw so nearly passed out

All Black captain-in-waiting Richie McCaw was strangled for 24 seconds last week and came perilously close to passing out on the pitch, say Crusaders sources.

The Herald on Sunday understands that Crusaders management are outraged by an act that left McCaw genuinely fearful for his life.

TV pictures failed to capture McCaw's distress when he was being throttled by an opposition player at the bottom of a ruck during last week's crunch game between the Crusaders and Hurricanes in Wellington.

But the All Black has told Crusaders management he was starting to panic before his team-mates came to his rescue and physically restrained the opposition player.

One Crusaders source who has timed the incident using video footage and heard McCaw's version of events has described the act "as the most despicable thing I have ever seen on a rugby pitch".

McCaw has chosen not to speak out on the incident as he believes it happened on the pitch and should stay on the pitch.

He only revealed to Crusaders management the full extent of the incident a few days after the game when he was coming under intense media scrutiny for his work at the breakdown.

As a consequence of keeping quiet, the Crusaders missed the opportunity to bring the incident to the attention of the match citing commissioner.

The referee, Paul Honiss, dealt with the incident at the time as a fracas broke out when both sides rushed to break up the struggle between McCaw and the other player.

But Honiss would have been unaware of what might have been going on while the two men were buried underneath a pile of bodies.

The other players only became aware there was trouble when the ruck cleared. But the opposition player's hands had been round McCaw's neck for some time before the other bodies were shifted.

As a consequence of Honiss dealing with the incident at the time and the silence from the Crusaders camp, the player was not cited.

While the Crusaders have been upset by the player's actions they are not keen for the issue to remain in the media spotlight.

As the New Zealand Rugby Union confirmed last night, there is nothing that can now be done.

Having also beaten the Waratahs on Friday night to retain their spot at the top of the Super 14 ladder, the Crusaders don't want to appear to be still troubled by an act that is in the past.

-HERALD ON SUNDAY