All Black Richie McCaw singled out for praise by Olympic boss

Jacques Rogge. Photo / Richard Robinson

Olympic boss Jacques Rogge has outed himself as a dyed-in-the-wool Richie McCaw fan.

The International Olympic Committee president, a passionate follower of the game who played flanker in the Belgian national team, the Black Devils, did not hesitate yesterday to name the All Black captain as his favourite rugby player.

Rogge, 69, is in the country to celebrate the New Zealand Olympic Committee's centenary, attend the opening of a high-performance training centre and watch the closing stages of the Rugby World Cup.

"I am not going to surprise you or be very original by saying Richie McCaw. He is, I believe, one of the best openside flankers of all time. It is difficult to compare different generations and unfair to do that, but what he does on the pitch is absolutely unbelievable.

"He is where the ball is. He is a fierce defender, he is tackling a lot, he is motivating the team. It's like he never feels the fatigue. He is an outstanding player and also a very nice personality."

And how did the likes of McCaw compare to his day?

"It is not the same game any more, neither the same man," says the three-time Olympic yachtsman.

"I could play openside flanker being only 6 feet 1 inch [183cm] and weighing only 87-88 kilos. Nowadays I would be fit enough to carry the shirt but not much more than that."

Mr Rogge would approve of the All Blacks giving priority to running rugby, having declared himself unhappy with the quality of play at the 2007 World Cup when, he said then, defence took precedence over attack.

Law changes had since helped, he said yesterday, but he had a suggestion.

"I would love to see a rule where the referees give an instruction after the ruck to play the ball because at times you see the ball at the feet of the attacking team and you see the scrum-half looking left, looking right, waiting, shifting his players and the ball just lies there.

"If the referee had the authority to say, 'Play' ... I think that would accelerate the game."

Mr Rogge said feedback on the cup he had heard around the world was that it was excellent. "What they see on television is absolutely fabulous. I think this will do a lot of good for rugby but also a lot of good for New Zealand."

Rugby was one of the six founding sports of the Olympics but the 15-man game is unlikely to return.

"Unfortunately, we think this is not possible because you need recovery time between matches of at least four or five days. The Olympic tournament is only 16 days long so it is impossible ... to ask teams to play four or five matches in [that] time."

The introduction of Sevens to the Olympics (men's and women's competitions debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro) would boost the profile, participation and funding of Sevens around the world and also benefit the 15-man game, Mr Rogge said.

And so to tomorrow night's final. The IOC chief, who played under a French coach, predicts a close match. "France had a shaky start ... but on a particular day, as you well know in New Zealand, France can be a very difficult opponent."