Photos: All Blacks v IrelandKEY POINTS:
He's been offered a sabbatical to rest his battered body, others have been instructed to share his load at the breakdown but bashful All Blacks rugby captain Richie McCaw has no intention of slowing down.
McCaw, who has recommitted to the national team until after the 2011 World
Cup, approaches tonight's first test against England at Eden Park tonight with a greater than usual weight of expectation.
All Blacks forward coach Steve Hansen described McCaw's performance against Ireland last Saturday as the "stuff of legend".
Being showered with praise is nothing new for the 27-year-old.
After the Brisbane Tri-Nations test in 2006, All Blacks coach Graham Henry doubted his skipper could ever play better as he reflected on a rugged 13-9 victory - sealed in part by McCaw's try-saving tackle on Mark Gerrard.
But Hansen's claim that the Crusaders captain was surely the greatest player to ever wear the black No 7 shirt after his deeds on a sodden Westpac Stadium last Saturday upped the ante even further.
"Michael Jones and Josh Kronfeld were world-class and this guy probably heads them off - he can do anything."
McCaw initially claimed he was unaware of Hansen's glowing assessment but Henry, when asked yesterday to appraise his pack leader, simply offered Hansen had said it all.
The 60-test veteran seemed embarrassed by the latest accolades but said there would be no resting on those perceived laurels come 7.35pm tonight.
Although he could name his price to northern hemisphere clubs, McCaw said his enjoyment was indelibly linked to the All Blacks, and the Crusaders.
"I get a huge thrill out of going out there and performing," he said, explaining his motivation for sustaining a weekly thumping.
"When you put in the work during the week and get rewarded on the Saturday with a good individual performance and a good team performance, there's nothing more satisfying for that."
"I really love challenges," McCaw said, "and every time you play for the All Blacks it is a challenge.
"Super 14 is the same, there is never an easy game. And there is the odd time when you don't perform so well and that just annoys you."
After being instrumental in helping New Zealand dominate Ireland at the breakdown, McCaw faces a fresh challenge from a trio of English up-and-comers.
Gone are the days of Richard Hill, Neil Back and Lawrence Dallaglio - the back row that triumphed against McCaw at Wellington in 2003.
In their place No 8 Luke Narraway, opensider Tom Rees and James Haskell form the obstacles.
Rees and Haskell are highly rated by former All Blacks prop and Wasps forward coach Craig Dowd while the English pack are equipped with their usual abrasive edge in the form of loosehead Andrew Sheridan.
"They've always had a pretty strong tight five, front eight, and I think this is no different. But like all games, if you can cut the ball off there (in the loose) and stop them getting dominance there then you're going to stop whatever they want to do."
Although there was no reconditioning window this season, meaning McCaw endured an arduous, though uplifting Super 14 campaign, his enthusiasm was unaffected.
"There's a few new guys in the team who are loving every bit of it, and myself and older guys feed off that," he said.
Meanwhile, McCaw's opposing captain Steve Borthwick is at the other end of the leadership spectrum, with the test tonight just his second at the helm.
The 28-year-old lock, who has never really established himself in the English engine room over the last seven years, succeeded Phil Vickery as captain after the Six Nations.
The captaincy will be revisited after England's elite player squad is picked in July, so Borthwick is looking to make the most of an opportunity he never anticipated.
"It didn't cross my mind until (manager) Martin (Johnson) phoned and asked me to take it on.
"I wouldn't say I was ambitious for the job, either. It's not in my make-up to aspire to something like the captaincy.
"I aspire to perform at a level that will win me the respect of my peers. That is what means most to me," he said, sounding suspiciously like McCaw.
- NZPA