McCaw, Richie (1980-…), is a retired New Zealand rugby player. McCaw captained the New Zealand national Rugby Union team, the All Blacks, from 2004 to 2015. He also played for professional teams in New Zealand. During his career, he was considered the best in the world in the position of openside flanker. 
Richard Hugh McCaw was born on Dec. 31, 1980, in Oamaru, on the South Island of New Zealand. He grew up on his family’s farm in the Hakataramea Valley. McCaw attended a boys’ boarding school in Dunedin as a teenager, where he was the captain of the rugby team. McCaw studied at Lincoln University in Canterbury but dropped out in 1999 after being selected to join the New Zealand under-19 rugby squad. That same year, the team went on to win the world championship.
McCaw joined the All Blacks in 2001. The same year, he also began playing for the Crusaders, a Super Rugby team from Christchurch. In 2002, he was voted Newcomer of the Year by the International Rugby Players Association. After a star performance during the 2003 Rugby World Cup, McCaw received his first New Zealand Player of the Year award. He first captained the All Blacks during a 2004 match against Wales, when he was only 23. McCaw led the Crusaders to back-to-back Super Rugby titles in 2005 and 2006.
McCaw became the full-time captain for the All Blacks in 2006. As captain, he won a record 97 Test matches. He was named the International Rugby Board (IRB) Player of the Year in 2006, 2009, and 2010. He also received the New Zealand Sportsman of the Year award in 2010 and 2011. In 2011, McCaw led the All Blacks to victory during the Rugby World Cup. Four years later, McCaw and the All Blacks became the first back-to-back Rugby World Cup champions. After his 2015 win, McCaw retired from rugby as the player with the most international appearances, also known as the “most capped” player, in All Blacks history.
McCaw is also a helicopter pilot and philanthropist. In 2009, he became an honorary squadron leader for the Royal New Zealand Air Force. McCaw was inducted as a member of the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest honor, in 2016.
