All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw retires from rugby

Fourteen years after making his Test debut against Ireland, Richie McCaw has announced that he is stepping away from rugby to pursue a life as a helicopter pilot. During his international career he played 148 games becoming the first man to captain a side to consecutive World Cup triumphs.

Richie McCaw played his 148th and final Test match in New Zealand's victory over Australia at the rugby World Cup final. Reuters/Henry Browne

Three weeks after leading New Zealand to glory at Twickenham, McCaw said it was the moment to end his time on the competitive field.

The 34-year-old played a record 148 Tests and was on the winning side on 131 occasions.

"I'm going to be hanging up my boots. It's the end of my rugby days," he said after opening his press conference with a minute's silence for the former All Black Jonah Lomu, who died on Wednesday.

McCaw won the World Rugby player of the year trophy three times. On 31 October he became the only captain to claim back-to-back World Cups.

"You prepare yourself as a rugby player for the day you have to finish. You know it's coming. It will probably hit hardest when the team goes into training and they run out for a match. But I'm not determined not to dwell on things. I've been lucky. I've done everything that I wanted to do. I had a hell of a time. I don't have any regrets.

"That last game, to have the World Cup final as the lasting memory of the last time on the pitch - pretty satisfying," he said.

McCaw was loved by his countrymen and loathed by his opponents as he racked up his tally of caps in the gruelling role of flanker.

New Zealand coach Steve Hansen was in little doubt that he had one of the sport's greatest players at the helm of his team.

"With regards to whether this All Blacks team is the greatest ever - that's for other people to say. I can talk a little bit about the players, I know a lot more about that. I think Richie is the greatest All Black we've ever had. You shouldn't be playing 148 Test matches as a flanker. That's unheard of. You put your body on the line every time you play there. We've been very fortunate to have a player like that. The opportunity is now there for somebody else to come along and be better than him."

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. His playing statistics tell the story, but Richie has also made a very significant contribution off the field as well."

Former Australia flanker Phil Waugh, one of Mccaw's fiercest rivals on the edge of the scrum, said: "He's the best rugby player of all time," Waugh told Fox Sports. "He's won more trophies and medals than any other player."

Australian Rugby Union chief executive Bill Pulver hailed him as one of the all-time greats of the game and the greatest ever All Blacks captain.

A keen aviator, McCaw revealed plans for a post-rugby career as a commercial helicopter pilot. 

"I am hugely passionate about it," he said. "It will never replace the thrill of running out in front of 80,000 but it is not far short of it."

Hansen joked that McCaw couldn't catch, couldn't pass and, couldn't run when he first saw him playing as a "pimply-faced schoolboy".

But Hansen said the skipper turned himself into a legend through sheer hard work.

"You've got to pick the right time to go and he couldn't have picked a better time," he added. "He is on top of the heap, he's made his own decision and we'll be forever grateful for what he has done for the All Blacks."