Photo: New Zealand Government, Office of the Governor-General / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Richie McCaw is, plainly, one of the greatest rugby players who ever lived, and I never tire of saying it. Born in Oamaru in 1980, he captained the All Blacks in an astonishing 110 of his 148 tests and lifted two Rugby World Cups, including that emotional 2011 home triumph. Winning World Rugby Player of the Year a record three times tells you how consistently he dominated at the breakdown. What I admire beyond the trophies is his humility and his life as a helicopter pilot away from the game. He's a Hall of Famer who carried New Zealand's expectations with rare grace.
Overview
Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a New Zealand retired professional rugby union player. He captained the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 test matches, and won two Rugby World Cups. He has won the World Rugby Player of the Year award a joint record three times and was the most capped test rugby player of all time from August 2015 to October 2020.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Richie McCaw
- Name (Japanese)
- リッチー・マコウ
- Reading
- りっちー・まこう
- Born
- December 31, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Monkey
- Origin
- Oamaru, New Zealand
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- 188 cm
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- rugby union player / helicopter pilot / glider pilot
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Lincoln University
Awards & achievements
- 2006 World Rugby Men's Player of the Year
- 2015 Order of New Zealand
- World Rugby Men's Player of the Year
- 2016 New Zealander of the Year
- 2019 World Rugby Hall of Fame
- 2012 honorary doctor of Lincoln University
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Rugby union player — see all → · More people from New Zealand →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.