Richie is a fabulous rugby player who is smart enough to take what the refs give him. I don't think there has been a more influential player in the game for the past 5 or 6 years, and there are certainly precious few of whom it can be said have represented their team with such grace and class.
I talked with a Test flanker a few years ago after he had just played in the Test backrow opposing McCaw and lost, and he was in awe of the NZ captain's freakish strength and engine. McCaw doesn't lift much weights at all; he prefers to put his time into functional strength and aerobic fitness and while he said McCaw really wasn't that big, he somehow possesses an unnatural core strength. Off the pitch, I've heard from sponsors and others who have had dealings with McCaw, that he is such a genuinely good and decent bloke and a pleasure to deal with at every level.
He'd always be first on the team sheet as captain in my pub XV.
