This morning Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina hold the record of being the most-capped All Blacks, beating my 92 caps with their 93rd against Ireland.
They have my congratulations it’s a great feat. I have to say I have never really thought that much about the record, beyond thinking that they play so many more test matches these days that it couldn’t possibly last.
But 92 caps is a lot and, as many people know, I was lucky enough to escape injury; at least until my last test.
That was against Wales in 1997, when I went on at halftime to see if my injured knee could stand up to it and whether I could start in the next test. All Black coach John Hart took me out to dinner later and said: “You’re not playing” and that was it. Read more
By the time this is read, we’ll know the result of the test against England but, regardless of that outcome, no one should underestimate the strength of the English challenge for next year’s World Cup.
They are going through some changes in the game, which most of us assume will place them at some disadvantage compared to the All Blacks, but that isn’t necessarily so.
