hellovanite says...

Whatever the situation Ritchie McCaw is not bigger than the game and he "will" have to do what is best for the ABs not what he sees as best for him self. Great player that he is and has been I get a little cheesed off when player dictate what should and should not be happening, and for all the strings in his bow he is after all just a player. It's not always the case that great player remain objective about their role in the team as the years roll on and other options become prevalent. We need to think about 2015 not how Ritchie feels he should or shouldn't be doing. The decision should not be his too make

Posted 02:10 30th June 2012

Trader2 says...

Good one @cuw3100 the old Trinats he is not the brightest candle on the fairy cake is he?

Posted 14:16 26th June 2012

Philly says...

Trinats if I'm not mistaken the last time Oz met NZ, McCaw gave Pocock a masterclass in how to be a number 7

Posted 11:54 26th June 2012

Trinats2 says...

Of course he wants to stay at 7, at blindside he would come up against Pocock, and couldn't cheat by leaving the scrum early !!!

Posted 10:39 26th June 2012

isthatrightref says...

@ tha_mai... he's clearly none of those things (but is a touch slower than he once was) & come August/ September may well have the usual AB-haters going nuts about his supposed cheating & IRB-protected status... that said, we now have in Cane (& Todd for that matter) a younger, faster guy able to lessen Pocock's effectiveness without us resorting to the cheap off-the-ball rubbish seen from the Welsh over the last 3 weeks; and the loss of Kaino means there's a spot available for someone to do the grunt work of carrying, cleaning out etc. Seems like a perfect time to make the switch, esp with the arrival of Read both as a must-select player & obvious choice as next long-term captain (head knocks permitting).

Posted 09:51 26th June 2012

badza says...

Richie has done lots for AB; but it is time for a change, him 6, Read 8 and Sam 7, that would be the best for the Crusaders and AB:

Posted 08:09 26th June 2012

tha_mai says...

what? I can't believe it, hasn't he read the expert opinion on Planet Rugby? I understood he was too old, too slow, not big enough, off-form etc from what I had read.

And PR - where's the coverage of R Deans rant re Pocock being targeted by Wales . . . it all sounds so familiar, a team cheating to stop a top 7: "In open play, he was held back by Welsh forwards or deliberately obstructed, while on one occasion was placed in a headlock, shortly after the ball had left the breakdown, which gave him no chance to get to the next tackle area. This happened on at least three or four occasions. Deans is concerned that if not policed properly other teams will try similar tactics to stifle his standout openside breakaway."

Posted 07:57 26th June 2012