McCaw to Take 6 Month Sabbatical

conf101

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_8102676,00.html

All Blacks and Crusaders captain Richie McCaw will sit out the majority of the 2013 Super Rugby season, it has been confirmed.

New Zealand's 2011 World Cup-winning skipper will take a six-month sabbatical aimed at guaranteeing his fitness for the 2015 World Cup in England.

Another article on it from the NZ Herald had me cracking out the world's smallest violin:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10835955

Fishooks12

That NZ Herald article is such a load of sanctimonious bull****

Richie McCaw, utter gent and a great player, but **** me it's annoying how he's viewed as some sort of golden god

Clegg

Fishooks12 wrote: »

That NZ Herald article is such a load of sanctimonious bull****

Richie McCaw, utter gent and a great player, but **** me it's annoying how he's viewed as some sort of golden god

Three time IRB Player of the Year. I can understand why he's worshipped in NZ.

Although, one of those IRB awards should have been BODs. Still can't fathom how wasn't given it for 2009.

Teferi

Fishooks12 wrote: »

That NZ Herald article is such a load of sanctimonious bull****

Richie McCaw, utter gent and a great player, but **** me it's annoying how he's viewed as some sort of golden god

New Zealand media in biased reporting shocker!

Typical NZ media rubbish.

bamboozle

conf101 wrote: »

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16016_8102676,00.html



Another article on it from the NZ Herald had me cracking out the world's smallest violin:

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10835955

was not sure if that article was about Mother Theresa or McCaw

'suffered 7 assaults in 3 years' i wonder if the same myopic journalists would consider Mealamu & Umaga's dump tackle on BOD assault

stephen_n

But the weight of evidence is there to believe there is something sinister at work.

Yes it's called Richie McCaw lol

CatFromHue

bamboozle wrote: »

was not sure if that article was about Mother Theresa or McCaw

'suffered 7 assaults in 3 years' i wonder if the same myopic journalists would consider Mealamu & Umaga's dump tackle on BOD assault

Hard to say. It's also hard to disagree with their verdict of him getting alot of cheap shots. You could add Andy Powell to that list of theirs and that's just off the top of my head.

He is an excellent player and very important to the Kiwis so yeah I can see why they're protective of him. Hell even I'm protective of him because I recognise how good he is lol!

twinytwo

bit much to expect him to still be playing international in 2015...

Swiwi

bamboozle wrote: »

was not sure if that article was about Mother Theresa or McCaw

'suffered 7 assaults in 3 years' i wonder if the same myopic journalists would consider Mealamu & Umaga's dump tackle on BOD assault

Look, we all agree that Umaga & Mealamu were extremely lucky not to get cards/cited, but it's a bit old news now, if I might say so. Whether you like or loathe him, McCaw is an amazing player. For starters he never retaliates. If it had been me, I would have thrown a few punches at Greyling, instead he left him to his fate of yellow card/Springbok defeat/2 weeks ban. Ditto for Heaslip.

He is still arguably the best 7 in world rugby, certainly the most influential, and it is becoming apparent that his 2011 form was a blip due to his foot fracture, rather than the beginning of the end, he has had a great 4N.

It was always taken that death, taxes, and Meads being the greatest AB ever were a given, but that view is being challenged...at least when it comes to Meads. His debut was 2001, against ye if I remember rightly, and he has put in season after season of top-notch performances, never worse than an average game, I can recall no shockers. There have been pretenders, George Smith, Marty Holah, Pocock etc, but still he stands tall, and fractured foot aside, he has been fairly bullet-proof.

I expect France will be licking their lips come June 2013.

Swiwi

Ok, I've bludged this straight from Wikipedia, but he had this to say about the old Lansdowne Rd, so he can't be all bad

"it was a hell of a stadium to play at, a real rugby stadium, a big crowd – something I'll always remember, very special."

Tox56

Swiwi wrote: »

Look, we all agree that Umaga & Mealamu were extremely lucky not to get cards/cited, but it's a bit old news now, if I might say so. Whether you like or loathe him, McCaw is an amazing player. For starters he never retaliates. If it had been me, I would have thrown a few punches at Greyling, instead he left him to his fate of yellow card/Springbok defeat/2 weeks ban. Ditto for Heaslip.

He is still arguably the best 7 in world rugby, certainly the most influential, and it is becoming apparent that his 2011 form was a blip due to his foot fracture, rather than the beginning of the end, he has had a great 4N.

It was always taken that death, taxes, and Meads being the greatest AB ever were a given, but that view is being challenged...at least when it comes to Meads. His debut was 2001, against ye if I remember rightly, and he has put in season after season of top-notch performances, never worse than an average game, I can recall no shockers. There have been pretenders, George Smith, Marty Holah, Pocock etc, but still he stands tall, and fractured foot aside, he has been fairly bullet-proof.

I expect France will be licking their lips come June 2013.

You could say the same to whoever wrote that article about McCaw and the cheap shots. Nothing wrong with the man personally, good guy and great player

Swiwi

Tox56 wrote: »

You could say the same to whoever wrote that article about McCaw and the cheap shots. Nothing wrong with the man personally, good guy and great player

Yeah, you're right. But it's not McCaw bringing it up, just the hack journalists. In fact, I honestly don't think I can ever recall McCaw whingeing after a game about cheap shots on the field. Same can't be said for NZ supporters of course

.ak

Swiwi wrote: »

Yeah, you're right. But it's not McCaw bringing it up, just the hack journalists. In fact, I honestly don't think I can ever recall McCaw whingeing after a game about cheap shots on the field. Same can't be said for NZ supporters of course

Nobody is questioning McCaw from what I can see here, just the journalism in question.

freyners

i had a laugh when they referenced a the spear tackle richie suffered, wondered what they call what happened to BOD.

rubbish journalism aside I think this is a smart move by McCaw, he puts his body through alot. 7 imo, along with front row, is the most trying position on the body

irishbucsfan

freyners wrote: »

i had a laugh when they referenced a the spear tackle richie suffered, wondered what they call what happened to BOD.

Ah now it wasn't a spear tackle. That would imply the ball was anywhere near them! The Herald are chief among the "Irish are crybabies" brigade. I delight in imagining them crying into their pillows tonight about poor Richie and the abuse he's taken. It's the exact same thing O'Driscoll suffers.

On another note, this reminds me of someone who posted here recently claiming we are the only country in the world with a stringent player management scheme!

freyners

irishbucsfan wrote:

Ah now it wasn't a spear tackle. That would imply the ball was anywhere near them!

good point

The Herald are chief among the "Irish are crybabies" brigade. I delight in imagining them crying into their pillows tonight about poor Richie and the abuse he's taken. It's the exact same thing O'Driscoll suffers.

On another note, this reminds me of someone who posted here recently claiming we are the only country in the world with a stringent player management scheme!

Is this not something McCaw specifically asked to be put in the contract rather than a player wide scheme

Swiwi

freyners wrote: »

good point



Is this not something McCaw specifically asked to be put in the contract rather than a player wide scheme

Yep. We did try "rest & rotation", 2007 I think it was , hasn't resurfaced since...

We have to work damned hard to keep our boys in NZ, given the weakish $NZ, and those damn French clubs with cartoon-book franchise owners. Most of the really big-name players (ie McCaw, Carter) have a "sabbatical" clause in their contracts. In some ways the Japanese situation is helping, as their season tends to be during the ITM cup, and it is generally recognised that their rugby is not the most physically demanding, but very lucrative, meaning a bit of cash before the next S15 season, without having to head to Europe, and give up the AB dream.

People like McCaw & Carter who have stuck with NZ rugby through thick & thin will be legends for life, and will never have to pay for a pint again in NZ. The Carl Hayman's and Luke McAlister's of this world are unlikely to get that favour. Hayman might be rich, but he was on the verge of becoming one of the greatest AB props since Ken Gray (apparently immense, never saw him play myself, of course), before he headed off to France, and a big drop in form, if not salary.

To my mind, it is a great move, it will be interesting to see if McCaw returns at 7, or scraps it out for 6. I expect Kaino to come back for 2014, and although Messam is fairly decent, I don't see him being there in 2015. If McCaw manages to win the damn thing again in 2015, it would be pretty remarkable, given he started out in 2001.

tolosenc

I've a feeling that a lot of the cheap shots thrown at McCaw are out of frustation that the ref is continually turning a blind eye.

He's a great player, made all the more effective by the laws of the game not applying to him.

Guy:Incognito

twinytwo wrote: »

bit much to expect him to still be playing international in 2015...

At 34? Hardly that much of a long shot.

thomond2006

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

At 34? Hardly that much of a long shot.

Brad Thorn took a similar break in the early 2000s and he went on to perform exceptionally at the highest level at 37. It seems McCaw is taking a leaf out of Thorn's book.

If this works out for McCaw down the line, it could well set a precedent for others to follow.

Swiwi

tolosenc wrote: »

I've a feeling that a lot of the cheap shots thrown at McCaw are out of frustation that the ref is continually turning a blind eye.

He's a great player, made all the more effective by the laws of the game not applying to him.

That is commonly said, but I think it is more a mark of how good a player McCaw is, that he adjusts his game to the style of the referee. He constantly lives on the edge, but generally knows how far he can push it before giving away a penalty. If it was just 1 referee you could cite bias, but it happens in every game he plays in (most recently with George Clancy, a Limerick man I believe), and I don't accept that there is systematic bias from all the world's referees. McCaw is just a fine player, and I imagine as you say it's irritating playing against him, hence the cheap shots of frustration.

twinytwo

thomond2006 wrote: »

Brad Thorn took a similar break in the early 2000s and he went on to perform exceptionally at the highest level at 37. It seems McCaw is taking a leaf out of Thorn's book.

If this works out for McCaw down the line, it could well set a precedent for others to follow.

big difference between playing lock and backrow though..and at the rate nz produce players he would have to being playing expetional rugby

JustinDee

thomond2006 wrote: »

Brad Thorn took a similar break in the early 2000s and he went on to perform exceptionally at the highest level at 37. It seems McCaw is taking a leaf out of Thorn's book

Thorn went back to NRL and Origin. Hardly a breather, Alan.

thomond2006

JustinDee wrote: »

Thorn went back to NRL and Origin. Hardly a breather, Alan.

I was sure he took a year out of all codes no?

thomond2006

JustinDee wrote: »

Thorn went back to NRL and Origin. Hardly a breather, Alan.

thomond2006 wrote: »

I was sure he took a year out of all codes no?

Gerry Thornley, Irish Times: April 2012 wrote:

Despite an option for a further two years on his contract, Thorn took a full year away from the game in 2002, which even involved turning down a chance to tour with the All Blacks at the end of 2001, as that would have tied him to a two-year option from 2002. Animatedly, he uses both hands and the full width of the table to divide his adult career effectively in two either side of 2002.

“When you think about it, it’s like a half-time break and so I wonder what that did for me, you know? I imagine that’s probably done heaps for me.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0428/1224315292020.html

durkadurka

Smack down !

JustinDee

thomond2006 wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2012/0428/1224315292020.html

I'll humbly stand corrected, Alan.