Richie McCaw held a press conference today at the NZ Rugby Headquarters to announce, “I’m going to be hanging up my boots.”
Before talking about his decision to retire, Richie made mention of the late Jonah Lomu who passed away at his Epsom home in Auckland yesterday after suffering cardiac arrest. Richie spoke incredibly highly of Lomu, calling him a “legend of the game” and passed on his condolences to Lomu’s wife and two young sons.
“My last game as an All Black and as a professional rugby player was winning the World Cup final,” Richie announced. “I sit here with no regrets of what I’ve done as a rugby player.”
He called the final “satisfying” and feels he played some of his best games ever over the past few weeks.
Aside from his skill set, Richie feels hugely rewarded by the All Blacks culture, saying it is “as much about what we do off the field as well as on.”
Ever humble, he went on to say he’s “pretty proud to have been able to perform at a level that was reasonably good.”
“It’s been a hell of a ride,” he declared.
So what does this new chapter hold for Richie?
The rugby captain learnt to fly helicopters in 2012 and will continue to pursue that passion.
“I am heavily involved in the Christchurch Helicopters company, they are great people and I’m excited about the opportunities there. Aviation is something I’m passionate about, I’m going to carry on flying and work towards getting my commercial pilot licence,” he said.
Richie wrapped up his statement by thanking his Mum and Dad, friends and family and his partner for their support.
Watch: The moment Richie McCaw announced his retirement from professional rugby
Steve Hansen then congratulated and thanked Richie on behalf of the community.
Hansen reminisced about how Richie arrived on the scene as a pimply faced school boy who was naïve, stating “he couldn’t catch, couldn’t pass, and couldn’t run” but he wanted to learn.
The thing that stood out to Hansen about Richie was that he was always trying to better himself, asking ‘What can I do better?’ “and he’d go away and work on it.”
Hansen agreed with McCaw that his Rugby World Cup final against Australia was “one of the best games I’ve seen him play.”
“We’ll miss him for sure but this is the right time to go,” Hansen said. “We’ll be forever grateful for what he has done for the All Blacks.”
“All this success couldn’t have happened to a better bloke and we wish him all the very best for the future,” Hansen concluded.
Watch: Steve Hansen pays tribute to Jonah Lomu and praises Richie McCaw
