Steve Tew, the chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Union, said: “Richie’s been the most influential player of his generation, if not of all time”.
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“We all know that at a few stage we will have to hang up our boots and say good-bye to this game we love so much”, said De Villiers.
McCaw led the All Blacks won the Webb Ellis Cup last month, giving the rugby-centric a insane period of celebration.
McCaw is also a three-time victor of the World Player of the Year award. “I wanted to make it about the team, not about the individual”.
“You prepare yourself as a rugby player for the day you have to finish”.
The 40-year-old star, who was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, in 1996, died in his home town of Auckland, New Zealand.
McCaw said he would now be concentrating on new business ventures.
Richie McCaw, who captained New Zealand to two Rugby World Cup triumphs and was one of the best players ever to grace the game, brought an end to his 14-year worldwide career by announcing his retirement on Thursday. His numbers are, quite frankly, bordering on ridiculous – and none more so than this particular statistic: of all the All Blacks victories since 1903 – 413 of them to be exact – McCaw has been on the field for 32% of them.
Rotorua raised, Liam was always expected to move to Japan after the 2015 Rugby World Cup, before possibly returning to New Zealand to chase a spot in the All Blacks Sevens side for the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Former Australia flanker Phil Waugh, one of Mccaw’s fiercest rivals on the edge of the scrum, said: “He’s the best rugby player of all time”, Waugh told Fox Sports.
“But I actually think his profile was bigger in England because of that try he scored when he ran over the top of Tony Underwood and Mike Catt”.
Amid the tributes, rivals were also hoping McCaw’s departure would make the All Blacks more vulnerable, particularly since fellow greats such as Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Keven Mealamu are also leaving.
“I guess it’s the end of a chapter and the start of a new one”.
Hansen told allblacks.com: “On behalf of the All Blacks, we want to congratulate Richie on everything he has achieved in his career”. But the more impressive thing about those 148 games is the quality of the performances he produced.
Former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga said Lomu “single-handedly put rugby on the map” in the professional era, a sentiment echoed by former team-mate Jeff Wilson.
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Having helped New Zealand to a 3-0 series win over the British and Irish Lions in 2005, McCaw was appointed captain in May 2006 at the age of 25 and after 36 Test matches.
