Richie McCaw gained French respect

It's 10 years since former All Blacks captain and flanker Richie McCaw walked into retirement, a two-time Rugby World Cup winner and leader, and one of the most outstanding performers in his position the world has seen.

One of the burdens of the dominance he brought to his role in the loose is having to endure the slings of disparagement of keyboard warriors who would attempt to diminish the skills and intelligence he applied while becoming an outstanding example of a loose forward able to adapt to circumstances.

Law changes in the modern game have affected loose forwards more than any other position, yet McCaw never wavered in applying his inherent game sense to understand those laws and maintain his dominance in his position.

Double Rugby World Cup winner Richie McCaw.

But in a recent feature published in Midi Olympique during France's tour to New Zealand, the comments of his French opponents revealed the respect they felt for McCaw's abilities.

Imanol Harinordoque said, "He's a great champion, not a cheat. McCaw is a chameleon: he simply adapts to the laws and their evolutions.

"In 2011, we tried to make him change, but he takes it well, the bastard."

Pascal Pape said, "McCaw annoys me as much as I respect him."

McCaw spoke about the final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, in which he described his foot injury as the 'outside of my foot was broken, literally', where South African referee Craig Joubert became the target of criticism for his handling of the game.

"I understand that the French might have been angry [about the referee] after that match. But I remind you that we felt the same way in 2007, after the quarterfinal loss to Les Bleus in Cardiff."

In the post-game assessment of the 18-20 Cardiff loss, coach Graham Henry found 16 refereeing errors.

But McCaw said, "That's what's cool about rugby. The human factor remains important. It's not a game of robots, and that's why we love it."

McCaw also explained why he never followed many of his teammates into playing rugby overseas after his international retirement.

"I was never interested enough to study the number of offers: it might have made me lose my cool. Clubs in the south of France insisted, though. But I never opened the door.

"I couldn't see myself going 18,000 kilometres away to do exactly the same thing I did at home."