Richie McCaw to play magic 100

Richie McCaw to play magic 100
allblacks.com - (14/09/2011)

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw will become the first New Zealand player to register a century of test matches against Japan at Waikato Stadium.

McCaw will be just the 19th player in international rugby to reach the milestone, and earlier speculation that he may be rested to bring up the mark against France at Eden Park proved false.

The always humble openside flanker seemed a little emotional when considering his landmark test.

"I don't quite know how to describe it to be honest," said the 99-test flanker.

"I suppose I'll take a moment to reflect on 100 tests. When I first started I just wanted to play another, and another. To get to 100 is pretty awesome.

As always McCaw said that he just wanted to make an impact, and said he approached each test in a sense as if it were his last.

"I always said I don't want to be there making up numbers,” he said. “It's what you do each one and hopefully I can play as well in my 100th as I did when I first started. That's the attitude I've always had. It's something after the game I'll look back and reflect on with a bit of pride."

He also said that he wouldn’t be thinking about his own personal milestone, but would be wanting to make sure the energies and emotion from the occasion would help his team.

"If you channel it the right way it can be a positive,” he said.

“The key thing is to keep remembering it's about doing your job for the team. The personal stuff aside, ultimately it's about the team performing. That's what you've got to remember every time you cross that line."

ENDS

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