Richie McCaw attended an All Blacks training session on Thursday as Ian Foster’s side looks to make a statement against the Springboks after a tumultuous 2022 campaign.
According to the New Zealand Herald, McCaw was first called to the All Blacks camp when they assembled for a review of 2022 in January in Christchurch, where he shared his own Word Cup experiences.
McCaw was part of the All Blacks squads that suffered early World Cup exits in 2003 and 2007, but would captain New Zealand to back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2015.
The former All Blacks captain also joined the team for a training session in Auckland on Thursday, ahead of the clash against the Springboks at the Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday.
“My first two campaigns that were unsuccessful some of the things we had to learn are helpful to pass on,” McCaw told the New Zealand Herald.
“When I was younger I thought you just turn up and play well it can’t be that much different. I didn’t take on the magnitude of a World Cup. I thought we’d just prepare better next time and then 2007 happened.
“At the time I thought it was good enough but, actually, on reflection, you don’t want to have any regrets. If you know there’s nothing else you could’ve done at least you can live with that.
“When the pressure comes on, especially when you’re captain, how are you going to respond? Putting the time and effort into some strategies I might have or what might you do is important.”
Couple of special guests at captains run 😎 pic.twitter.com/3QLBFrrbTu
— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 14, 2023
McCaw is not the only former player to be invited, with Kieran Read, Jerome Kaino and Dan Carter also being used as sounding boards by the All Blacks coaches and players.
“We’re trying to utilise the experience of players that have been there to gather information and make sure we don’t miss anything in the build up to France,” said Foster.
“Richie has been immense for this team. We all know that. One of his strengths is not to come in and preach. He just shares his own story. Telling stories is pretty powerful for the group we’ve got. For him to share some of the things he learnt – not all of those were positive. It was a great way to set up the start of the year.”
Photo: @AllBlacks/Twitter