McCaw poised to equal test cap record
Print Edition
NEW Zealand captain Richie McCaw will have a big stage to equal the mark as the world’s most-capped rugby player: the Rugby Championship decider against Australia in Sydney tomorrow.
The 34-year-old McCaw will be appearing in his 141st test for New Zealand, matching the record for most caps set by Ireland’s Brian O’Driscoll. In his 140 tests to date, McCaw has only lost 14 matches.
Winger Nehe Milner-Skudder will also make his debut in a New Zealand lineup that will be close to full strength as head coach Steve Hansen prepares his squad for the World Cup starting next month.
The starting lineup will feature players with a total of 868 test caps, with another 183 on the bench.
Australia, meanwhile, has named flankers David Pocock and Michael Hooper to start a test together for the first time — Hooper on the openside flank and Pocock at No. 8.
New Zealand and Australia are both unbeaten in this season’s Rugby Championship and are tied on nine points apiece. Tomorrow’s match will decide the winner of the shortened Rugby Championship and will also be the first leg of the Bledisloe Cup between the two Southern hemisphere rivals, with the return scheduled for a week later in Auckland.
“The Bledisloe Cup is an important trophy for New Zealand rugby and for this team, and Australia is one of our oldest opponents,” Hansen said. “We are well aware that they have made improvements and that their coach (Michael) Cheika wants them to be more physical and more consistent.”
For the Wallabies, Matt Giteau will return from injury to start at inside center in his 94th test and his first against New Zealand since 2011 when he left Australia to play in France. He joins flyhalf Bernard Foley and center Tevita Kuridrani in the middle of the Wallabies backline, while Drew Mitchell will start a test for the first time this season on the left wing.
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