McCaw says Kolisi’s influence could tilt Rugby Championship contest for South Africa
Richie McCaw has warned that South Africa’s Siya Kolisi can still swing a Test even when the Springboks look out of it. The former All
Richie McCaw has warned that South Africa’s Siya Kolisi can still swing a Test even when the Springboks look out of it. The former All Blacks captain’s message lands as the latest chapter in rugby’s fiercest rivalry stays alive, with South Africa under pressure and New Zealand pushing hard.
McCaw knows the type well. He led New Zealand through one of the game’s dominant eras and retired as the All Blacks’ most capped Test player, with 148 appearances, 111 as captain, 131 wins, two draws and just 15 defeats.
A captain who changed the temperature
Kolisi’s effect goes beyond the scoreboard. That is the warning from McCaw, whose own career was built on control, composure and the ability to lift teammates when the contest turned messy.
For New Zealand, South Africa’s skipper remains the danger point. The Springboks can look flat, the crowd can smell trouble, and then one intervention changes the mood. One run. One turnover. One tackle. That sort of day.
McCaw’s comments arrive at a time when South African rugby has again shown why opponents never quite feel safe. News24’s coverage around the contest has pointed to the Springboks responding in Cape Town to keep the “Greatest Rivalry” series alive, while previews described them as on the ropes against an All Blacks side that had been thriving.
McCaw’s own standard
The warning carries weight because McCaw’s record still hangs over the sport. He retired from rugby after the 2015 World Cup final, closing a 15-year career that brought two World Cup titles and a reputation few captains in any code can match.
Back home, he was long treated with near-mythic status. “Captain Fantastic”, “The Real McCaw”, “Richie McAwesome” — the nicknames piled up. Team-mates, according to one of the tributes to his career, simply called him the GOAT.
Former All Blacks coach Steve Hansen once called him the greatest All Black the side had produced. Graham Henry, who handed McCaw the captaincy in 2004 at age 23, described him as the most influential rugby player to have played the game.
Why South Africa still worries New Zealand
That is the subtext here. South Africa do not need to dominate every minute to matter. McCaw’s warning suggests the All Blacks know Kolisi can change the emotional weather of a match, even when the numbers lean the other way.
It is also a reminder of how closely the rivalry is watched far beyond the two rugby heartlands. New Zealand and South Africa have spent years shaping the sport’s biggest modern edge, and every captain carries a kind of inherited pressure. Kolisi carries it for the Boks. McCaw carried it before him.
The Springboks’ response in Cape Town kept their series hopes alive. And if McCaw is right about Kolisi’s pull on a game, New Zealand will have to keep looking over its shoulder.
McCaw finished his All Blacks career with 148 Test caps.
