The airline has been a sponsor of the All Blacks for more than two decades and Richie McCaw has been an Air New Zealand brand ambassador since 2010.
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“Today, I thought about whether it was the right thing to do this”, said McCaw. Unfortunately, the next thing I remember is turning around to see Jonah scoring the try.
“So sad to hear the news about this unbelievable giant of a man”, said the former England football captain, David Beckham, “a sporting hero and one of the nicest people you could ever wish to meet”.
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”.
McCaw who captained the Kiwi side in 109 Tests, now looks forward to pursuing a helicopter pilot’s career with the Christchurch helicopter company. His 110-match captaincy is also a record. McCaw, who played through the 2011 final with a broken foot, saw a dream end to his time as an All Black with victory over fierce rivals Australia at Twickenham. That’s 131 wins in the famous black jersey for McCaw.
And the All Blacks were simply irresistible as they swept all before them to lay claim to being the greatest team in rugby history.
The team that McCaw played most the most Tests against were the Wallabies (37 for 29 wins) and Australian Rugby tweeted: “Congratulations to @AllBlacks captain Richie McCaw on an awesome career”.
Modest as ever, McCaw didn’t reel off the global trinkets he’s collected along the way.
Jonah Lomu will be remembered as one of rugby’s greatest ever stars after changing the game forever, according to his former All Blacks skipper Sean Fitzpatrick.
“It’s a sad day for New Zealand, the Tongan community and rugby as a whole”, said Tuitupou.
As a schoolboy McCaw recalls watching the Rugby World Cup when all the focus was on Lomu.
“We will miss him but he has to pick the right time to go and he has done that” said Hansen.
Lomu’s death of a heart attack on Tuesday night in his Auckland home is being mourned by the world of sport as emotional accolades poured in for one of New Zealand’s favourite sons. He said it helped get him in the mood. For those unaware, this is New Zealand’s version of eBay.
Unsurprisingly then, McCaw’s final official words of his retirement announcement were for the people. “I’d also like to thank the fans who have supported me, both here and overseas”. Your unwavering and passionate support for myself and the other players has always given us a huge lift, wherever we have played.
Lomu’s performances at that World Cup also meant rugby stumbled upon not just a player of unrivalled brilliance but the sport’s first marketing phenomenon, loved not just for his stature but also his winning smile.
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And with that the boy from Kurow, rural North Otago in New Zealand’s South Island closed the book on his magnificent career. I don’t think he was our greatest player but that was due to his illness.
