Richie McCaw is set to finish his test career on Saturday after the World Cup Final , even though he won’t admit it. We’ve compiled a list of staggering stats from his test career.
32 percent
Of the All Blacks’ 412 victories since 1903, McCaw has been on the field for 32 percent of them. 130 wins in black to be exact.
147
The most number of tests by any player in rugby history. 109 of those as captain are a record. His 130 wins are also a record.
37
The number of tests McCaw has missed since his debut on November 17, 2001.
36
That’s how many tests he has played against Australia, the most by one player against an opposition.
Sunday will be his 37th. Just six of those were defeats.
132
The number of players to make their All Blacks’ debut since McCaw’s first test in 2001.
10
The number of times he’s lifted the Bledisloe Cup as All Blacks captain. He’s also lifted four Tri Nations titles, three Rugby Championships and one World Cup.
2
McCaw has lost just two tests on home soil of the 61 he played in New Zealand.
3
Number of times he has been awarded World Rugby player of the year.
8
Number of nominations for World Rugby player of the year. Twice as many as the next best – Dan Carter.
18
The number of different teams he has played a test against (including the British and Irish Lions). The only two nations in the top 20 he has never faced is Uruguay and USA (though he toured USA last year).
39
Number of grounds McCaw has played a test on.
12
The number of times McCaw has travelled to South Africa to play a test match. He’s also made the same number of tours to the Northern Hemisphere for end of year trips or World Cups.
68
The All Blacks’ winning percentage in those tests without McCaw. They won 19, lost 7 and drew one when he didn’t take the field since his debut.
3
Of his 15 defeats in the All Blacks jersey, only three times was the loss by double figures. The largest being the 38-21 loss to England in 2012. The next biggest defeat was the 22-10 World Cup semifinal loss to Australia in 2003. He’s been in seven defeats by three points or less.
30
The number of times McCaw has been replaced in his 147 tests. Only nine of those have been in the last four years, during the ‘twilight’ of his career. He’s also come off the bench seven times in total.
4
Has only lost tests to four nations – Australia (6), South Africa (6), England (2) and France (1).
5
In the classic six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, we came up with how many moves it would take to get from McCaw to Colin Meads. It only took five…
1 McCaw made his debut against Ireland in 2001, starting on the wing that day – Jonah Lomu
2 Lomu made his debut against France in 1994, starting on the other wing was John Kirwan 3 Kirwan made his debut against England in 1985, starting hooker was Andy Dalton 4 Dalton played beside Bryan Williams in the 1978 season.
5 Williams played in the fourth test draw against the Lions in 1971 – Meads’ last test.
– NZ Herald
Martin Myers 
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