Rugby: Timing is everything

Richie McCaw. Photo / Getty Images

Even for Richie McCaw, even given his incredible ability in the past to jump off the physio's couch straight into the fray and be world class instantly, the challenge of being at his best by the World Cup is daunting.

Normally, by this point of the season McCaw would have 10-14 games behind him. He has started his Super Rugby campaigns a few weeks later than others in recent seasons but, once he's come back, he's played all the way through.

Due to his delayed entry and then a nasty foot injury followed by a head knock and now his foot flaring again, he's managed four starts and a run off the bench. Even in these overly protective times, that's not much rugby. Hardly any, really, and the skipper's most notable contribution to date has been his decision to pick up the ball in the last minute against the Reds.

The rampaging runs that were prevalent in Super Rugby last year haven't been seen. He's not been able to exert his influence at the breakdown. His thunderous tackling has been conspicuously absent.

Only the lobotomised would wonder whether the great man is on the decline. He hasn't lost anything; his age has not suddenly taken grip nor are injuries now making their presence felt.

He just hasn't played anywhere near enough rugby yet to have found his flow. It takes time even for the very best to feel the rhythm of the game; to become accustomed to the pace and the nuances of the evolving patterns and referee interpretations.

It has been especially hard for McCaw because his appearances, paltry as they have been, haven't been consistent either. He played off the bench in Tauranga in week nine and then missed the next game against the Highlanders. He was back to play the Force, out again the following week to face the Stormers.

His longest stretch came when he played against the Cheetahs and Reds in consecutive weeks. Now he's forced to rest his troublesome foot again and is facing three weeks on the sidelines. Maybe he'll be back to feature if the Crusaders can make the last four.

The All Black coaches will be desperate to see him return - partly to alleviate their fears that his foot may not cease to be an issue. He's missed 10 weeks of rugby for an injury that was initially diagnosed with a six-week recovery. What started as frustrating is on the verge of being worrying.

The All Black coaches need to have their man collecting minutes so he can sharpen his instincts and play his way back to his best form. Whenever McCaw has been injured and made astonishing returns to the test arena, he's done so from a base; it has been a case of picking up where he left off.

Now he only has one or two Super Rugby games - possibly none - and four tests before the World Cup. He'll want to play every minute if he can.

What will be lurking in the back of his mind are memories of 2007. That was the last quiet year of McCaw's career. He was good, just not brilliant that year.

Much of that was due to his enforced absence from the early rounds of Super Rugby as part of the All Black reconditioning programme.

He returned fitter than he'd ever been, rested and devoid of any niggles. But he struggled to adapt to the pace and intensity of a tournament that was in peak flow.

With his form never quite where he wanted it, his confidence dipped a fraction and his captaincy wasn't as authoritative as it needed to be.

Four years on, he's more certain in his captaincy. But he still says that his ability to lead effectively is based on his form. When he plays well and feels he's delivering as a player, his captaincy flows from there.

The ideal scenario has long passed - McCaw is now dealing with something closer to worst case. He is the master of the impossible yet even he will be a little edgy about the size of the task he faces in trying to be at his brilliant best by early September.