Where once it seemed Sean Fitzpatrick would break the barrier before injury claimed him, McCaw has pushed on to claim the historic first.
This is a Yuri Gagarin, Roger Bannister, Sir Ed Hillary package, a career of exploration, skills and determination to be first to the milestone moment.
His teammates will acknowledge this achievement in public tonight in front of a capacity crowd which will include McCaw's parents and other close friends.
In private, the All Blacks and their coaching staff will embrace their captain, honour him, chip him and give thanks they have been blessed with such a golden player.
McCaw will accept the accolades with the good grace, manners and slight embarrassment which have accompanied him in public throughout his career.
Those traits were on show when he fronted with coach Graham Henry to discuss prospects for what was supposed to be his milestone match until a calf strain claimed him.
Whenever a question was thrown at McCaw, his reply was usually accompanied by a shrug of the shoulders, a look down or his paw rubbing his face.
He has been in this public arena many times, he knows the drill, he has answered many tricky topics but none was more difficult than talking about himself.
When Henry delivered a glowing assessment of his skipper, McCaw's eyes searched for a distant target to focus on. That proved a bit tricky in the cramped interview pit in the All Blacks' hotel.
Not much has changed in the decade since McCaw was revealed as a shock choice for the All Blacks' end-of-year tour and then picked instead of Josh Kronfeld for the opening test against Ireland.
In that week, McCaw showed the reticence for individual acclaim and an ability to give straight answers which have followed his career.
He was chosen as man of the match after his debut, recognition for the talent-spotting gifts of coaches John Mitchell and Robbie Deans and notice for those of us who had seen little of his work in New Zealand.
Since then we have seen truckloads and marvelled at the concentrated venom McCaw brings to his game.
McCaw recalls his Lansdowne Rd debut with clarity and fervour, it is a favoured memory in an honour-laden career.
"It was the first time you call yourself an All Black and I guess it is the dream coming true," he said. "I watched it not so long ago on TV and the game we played wasn't so flash, but in terms of memories that was one."
Matches which always remained in the front of his recollections were those with extra heat riding on them, tests against top-quality opponents where the All Blacks might be under the gun or battling controversy.
The second test against the Lions in 2005 was like that.
McCaw might have added the 2008 test against the Wallabies when he returned to the fray at Eden Park after injury with his side under the pump after successive losses to the Boks and Wallabies.
He turned in another top game to lead the All Blacks to a significant 39-10 win against the Wallabies.
His attitude has always been the same throughout his career.
"I always said you don't want to make up numbers, it's what you do in each one and I hope to play as well as I can in my 100th as I did when I first started," he said.
That sporting mantra could be sewn into the lining of McCaw's kitbag. He hates dropping his standards, he does not shrug that off as others would. If it occurs, he drives himself harder.
He is a leader in name and deeds as centre Conrad Smith revealed when he spoke about McCaw, playing in one of the most arduous roles in the side, yet usually first to the training field or getting his side back in the zone for the next match.
"It is admirable and he does it time and time again and has been doing it for 100 tests," Smith said.
How does he do it? At one stage McCaw was trying to juggle his sport and university study but stopped his education as sport bit deeper into his time.
When he stepped back he realised his studies and rugby counter-balanced each other and he needed that context in his life.
His family were keen aviators and his grandfather had fuelled that passion with stories of his fighter pilot experiences in World War II. McCaw figured gliding would be the perfect counter-balance and therapy to a torrid professional rugby career.
His life was in sync again. Gliding was peaceful yet demanding, an escape and a challenge.
His stellar rugby career continued. His life is full, time is a precious commodity because everyone wants a piece of McCaw - his coaches, teams, sponsors, the media, the public, his family, friends, wellwishers - and then he has to do his fitness training and mental preparation.
He handles those duties with concentrated discipline. He has learned to manage his time properly and that, he says, allows him to maintain his test rugby standards.
"You have to be organised," he told the Herald recently.
"And I think that helps with the consistency of play because you have to do that each week while you also have to fit in a lot of other things.
"There are guys I see who have brilliant games and are poor the next. They don't know what they have to do to get themselves in that good state each weekend and you learn from that as you go."
McCaw's also carries a passion for rugby which remains undiminished. Evidence was his signature on an NZRU contract to play another four years in this part of the world.
This is his third World Cup and second as captain.
He, Daniel Carter, Muliaina, Ali Williams and Tony Woodcock are survivors who started that shock 18-20 loss to France four years ago in Cardiff.
Recollections are no longer a gaping sore for the 30-year-old All Black captain but they annoy when the subject is revisited.
He has drawn on his experiences from that defeat and knows he is a better player and his team is a feared opponent for everyone in the rugby world. Similar thoughts hit the All Blacks when they stumbled to three losses against the Boks in 2009 and doubts started to seep into their consciousness.
"You have a choice, either stand up from that or chuck it," McCaw says.
We all know what McCaw has done, repeatedly, throughout his decade of duty.
His body might bend from time to time but his mind is unwavering. Every time he goes into battle he wants to deliver his best, improvement is always his mantra.
If that happens, his team benefit and for McCaw, that rather than the personal glow of records, drives him to deliver.
