Rugby: ABs hold Richie in Mc-Awe

Richie McCaw. Photo / Getty Images

Try telling one of the many new All Blacks that the aura of Richie McCaw is fading; that the time has come for him to step aside and let Kieran Read assume the captaincy.

The players on assignment in Tokyo would find that notion laughable. Read is the rising force, the world's best No8, maybe the world's best player and an increasingly effective and influential captain. While the captaincy will, in time, become permanently his, for now he's best in the role of dutiful and loyal deputy, perfectly cast as Gordon Brown to McCaw's Tony Blair.

But McCaw and Read's is a content and easy alliance. There is no coup imminent; Read, like every other player in this touring All Black squad, understands the importance of McCaw.

The All Blacks of 2013 have shown they can win without their skipper - but that doesn't mean they want to. That doesn't mean they are ready for permanent change.

All that's happened is that due to a seven-month break and a subsequent injury-disrupted season since his return, McCaw hasn't been able to deliver his best form yet. That's it and there is not a shred of doubt within the camp that vintage McCaw will soon be on show. There is no doubt that what he brings as a leader needs replacing.

It's not exaggerating to say there are younger All Blacks who are not so much in awe as in fear of McCaw. Julian Savea met McCaw and Prince William for the first time last year; it was his brush with royalty that led to his mouth drying up and palms sweating. But he was fine when he met Prince William.

Jerome Kaino said it took more than a year before he felt he could instigate a conversation with the skipper. The legend of McCaw is huge. He can't help but be a daunting presence - the sort of bloke, by reputation, who sets new boys on edge.

Sam Cane, the man hoping to take possession of the No 7 shirt in time and maybe even the captaincy, says that he felt a relative level of comfort around McCaw when he came into the squad last year. But he's seen more clearly this year, how nerve-racking it is for new players coming in.

"The more time you spend with anyone, the more comfortable you are going to get. That's certainly the case," says Cane about his relationship with McCaw. "It is only my second year here but, to see some of the new guys come in this year, it reminds you of how nervous you were just a short time ago."

McCaw is one of the boys and yet he retains that element of distance that sets him apart. An anthropologist would be able to quickly identify the alpha male in the group. Some of that respect he commands is due to his longevity: more than 120 tests and 84 as captain. More still is due to his relentless excellence and indisputable courage.

He has three times been the IRB World Player of the Year and in this, his 13th season of test rugby, there wouldn't be a player anywhere on the planet who could claim to have absorbed half the blows he has. Never has his courage been more obvious than when he played the World Cup with a broken foot - and no one even knew.

Most of the respect for him, though, is driven by the standards he sets every day. He is the first man off the bus on to the training ground. He is consistently the fittest man at testing. He is never late. He never pushes the boundaries off the field. He never cuts corners, never shirks a responsibility and never expects anyone to do something he wouldn't do himself.

Anecdotes of his influence are plentiful. Israel Dagg says he'll never forget scoring the injury-time, winning try three years ago in Soweto. Jogging back to halfway in a euphoric state, McCaw gave him a sharp reminder that there was still time left, the game hadn't yet been won and that Dagg should never celebrate like that again before the ball was safely touched down.

Cory Jane revealed last year that he feared the World Cup final was slipping out of the All Blacks' grasp - that the team was unravelling under the pressure. It was the measured calm of McCaw that brought Jane belief in the last quarter. He saw the skipper refusing to give an inch while staying eerily focused; Jane knew then that he had to do the same.

Then there was the rocket McCaw launched in South Africa last year when, two days out from the test, the typically sharp Thursday training was anything but. His mother wouldn't have been proud of the language used but the message was unambiguous and come game day, his team-mates ran through brick walls as he suggested they'd need to.

This year, it was noticeable that when McCaw returned to the side for the Rugby Championship, there was a subtle but significant collective shift in attitude, body language and demeanour compared with June. His presence brought that little edge to others; the senior players found their voice, the younger men became that little bit more focused and attentive.

There's just no question that this is McCaw's team and will be until the next World Cup. Everyone within the All Blacks wants it that way; everyone feels they still need it to be that way, not just for the internal dynamic, but also for the respect McCaw commands externally.

Referees, even the most experienced and best, tread as carefully around the skipper as the younger All Blacks do. None of them ever shoo him away when he makes an inquiry about a decision and that's because he knows when to approach and when to swallow the medicine without complaint. That's a skill learned over 84 tests - it's not something that came quickly or easily and it is not something the All Blacks are in any rush to discard.