Richie McCaw

A look back to 2011 when the great All Black went beyond the call of duty

- Campbell Burnes

THE TENSION was palpable. As the clock wound down on the 2011 World Cup final at Eden Park, many watched on stressed, nervy, anxious, silent. And that was just in the press box.

The All Blacks finally shrugged off the chokers tag that had bedevilled them since 1987 to “thrash France 8-7”, as Graham Henry would later say. It would be a stretch to say that victorious skipper Richie McCaw enjoyed the World Cup.

“The buzz around the country was amazing. Having the team win topped it off. I’m not sure if the memory would have been quite the same if we hadn’t got the job done. It was sheer relief when we got across the line,” he says.

The All Blacks’ best rugby came in the 37-17 pool defeat of France (above), which marked McCaw’s 100th Test.

“We played superbly in that game. But that’s when my foot started to play up a bit. It was like ‘Jeepers, how’s this going to go for the rest of the tournament?”