Richie McCaw has 'been an inspiration to us all'

Sport is often littered with ham-fisted hyperbole — but Richie McCaw bucks the trend as a rugby superstar who deserves every ounce of praise lavished upon him.

Almost three weeks after New Zealand won a second successive World Cup with McCaw at the helm, the 34-year-old’s retirement might have been widely expected, yet it still leaves a feeling of sadness that he will no longer grace a game he has transcended for so long.

The McCaw statistics tell their own story.