Olympic Games next for retired Richie McCaw

Herald on Sunday editor Miriyana Alexander gives Richie McCaw a souvenir front page. Photo / Greg Bowker

Richie McCaw is Olympic-bound.

But he won't be making a dramatic return to rugby to help the All Blacks Sevens in their bid to win gold.

The recently retired captain, who played 148 tests for the men in black between 2001 and 15, will be in the grandstands cheering on his partner Gemma Flynn and her Black Sticks hockey team-mates.

"Obviously the Olympics is something I want to watch, with the girlfriend who's going to be playing," McCaw said.

"The Olympics is something that if I was still playing I wouldn't be able to do, but next year I'll head there without the pressure of having to do anything."

Flynn witnessesd some of the biggest milestones in McCaw's career in recent years, including his 100th test and the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup final win against the Wallabies - McCaw's final match of professional rugby.

On Friday night he made an emotional address at the New Zealand Rugby Awards at Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre, and took possession of a framed front-page of the Herald on Sunday's historic 8am World Cup edition.

The souvenir image, showing McCaw surrounded by ecstatic team-mates celebrating their back-to-back triumph at Twickenham, was presented by the paper's editor, Miriyana Alexander.

Although his playing days are over, he stressed he wouldn't be totally lost to the national game.

"I will want to give something back at some point, but what that actually means I don't know yet."

He has already entered April's GODZone 550km adventure race in the Tasman District to raise money for the Cure Kids charity.