All Blacks: Captain my captain

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The bitterness the rest of the world feels towards Richie McCaw is increasingly hard to contain.

There's barely disguised contempt for the All Black captain these days, as if his brilliance is neither real nor sustainable but for his unparalleled capacity to cheat.

McCaw the cheat is the subject of choice in any test build-up; invariably the theme that dominates the post-match analysis.

The skipper was ludicrously good in Wellington - something the South Africans were keen to dismiss as they questioned the legality of his work and the leniency of the referee.

Springbok captain John Smit at least gave the impression he harboured a begrudging professional respect for McCaw; that the South African hooker would love to have the same favoured status among the world's leading referees.

From Smit's perspective, the frustration is not that McCaw bends and occasionally breaks the rules, operating in the decidedly grey areas all quality opensides consider home. It's the fact he seems so regularly to win the benefit of the doubt; that referees are almost in awe of his reputation and powerless in his presence.

Bakkies Botha and Danie Roussow infringed once and were carded. McCaw, by his own admission was "guilty of giving away a couple of penalties, of not holding my feet a couple of times." Yet no card was shown; Alain Rolland was patient, forgiving, almost reluctant to draw a line or treat McCaw the same as everyone else.

While it incensed the South Africans and will no doubt drive the Australians and the Home Nations mad in the future, New Zealanders should rejoice. McCaw has not reached this treasured place by chance. Saturday will be his 86th test, his 49th as captain.

Once a little reticent to push himself forward, to engage and impose himself, McCaw has stepped into that iconic league of great leaders who know how to manipulate referees.

It's a skill he has slowly developed, one he never fully appreciated the value of until the 2007World Cup. That black day in Cardiff, he let the public schoolboy within Wayne Barnes roam free and dictate the outcome of the quarter-final.

It was a lesson learned the hard way and McCaw, in his usual understated way, has gone about improving the intangible side of his craft. There's no guidebook, no real help at hand, other than experience, gut-feel, confidence and studying other great captains such as Sean Fitzpatrick, Buck Shelford, John Eales and Martin Johnson.

These were men who could intimidate referees, who knew how to stand their ground, stare, cajole, advise and get the outcome they wanted. They were bigger than the game, almost untouchable, and referees knew it.

There was no one better than Fitzpatrick at infringing in full view and then politely inquiring as to his misdemeanour. There were even times when Fitzpatrick appeared capable of convincing referees they hadn't seen what they had just seen.

Lyndon Bray, who is the NZRU and Sanzar high performance referee manager, believes McCaw has matured into a similarly effective communicator.

"There is no doubt Sean Fitzpatrick had an aura," says Bray. "When Richie first started, he just let you get on with your job. I think now he's decided that he needs to have more influence, as that's all part of the role, and he has matured nicely.

"He's very good at building relationships with referees and having rapport. When you have that rapport, it earns you the right to ask questions."

The grey area is whether McCaw's improved relationship with the world's best referees earns him anything more. A captain who communicates with a referee, who shows respect and makes it clear he wants everyone to have a good game, is an easy captain for most referees to like.

Bray says that in his role advising referees, he has to make them aware of the need to be empathetic, then decisive. They can build a rapport with a captain, engage in constant dialogue if they like, but there comes a point when they must step in and show the boundary line and explain or show the consequences when it is crossed.

How easy is that switch to decisive mode when McCaw is on the field? Are referees slower, reluctant to test the strength of their relationship with the All Black captain by showing him a yellow card?

Bray doesn't think so. It's his view that strong rapport makes it easier to be decisive - as any referee who doesn't act when he should will find he loses respect and credibility and ultimately the relationship he once had.

Yet against that, it seems an unlikely coincidence that the most successful teams in history have all had strong, enigmatic captains. The perception is hard to shake that the best teams are refereed more favourably - they win crucial decisions and they win the benefit of the doubt.

The All Blacks under Fitzpatrick in 1996 and 1997, when he was at the peak of his leadership powers, lost just once, a dead rubber.

Similarly England in 2002 and 2003 were a fearsome side, captained by the fearsome Johnson. He was another expert at putting doubt into referees' minds; but his method was a little different. He let his hulking frame and brooding manner unsettle officials. He made referees scared to enforce the law.

Former test referee Paul Honiss had charge of a few games featuring Johnson in his prime and says it was always a tough day at the office.

"I remember one game at Twickenham when England were playing France and Johnson was involved in an altercation off the ball for which I had to penalise him and it was within kicking distance. "I pulled him aside and said: 'Look, you guys have had quality ball for 70 minutes and I'm going to allow them the same right'. As I was saying it, I looked at him and he wasn't even looking at me. He was staring somewhere else.

"He was an imposing character and I had to say my piece and stand firm. That could be a problem for younger, inexperienced referees. They have to learn that they have to follow through or the players won't respect them."

It seems an age ago now that McCaw's captaincy style was being questioned; that there were some even calling for him to stand down.

He will, before the end of the Tri Nations, surpass Fitzpatrick as the most experienced All Blacks captain in history. He's also pretty close to surpassing his predecessor as the best All Black captain in history.