New Zealand head coach Steve Hansen has claimed that Richie McCaw will be regarded as the "greatest" All Black of all time.
The team captain announced his retirement on Thursday, almost three weeks after guiding New Zealand to World Cup glory.
McCaw played in 148 Tests, the most by any player in rugby union history, and won 131 of them.
Hansen told All Blacks: "On behalf of the All Blacks, we want to congratulate Richie on everything he has achieved in his career. All this success couldn't have happened to a better bloke and we wish him all the very best for the future.
"In my opinion, he will go down not only as the greatest All Black of all time, but the greatest captain we have ever had and possibly the greatest player to have ever played the game in the modern era.
"To play 148 Tests is something to be marvelled at on its own, particularly with the physical demands of the position he plays. But the more impressive thing about those 148 games is the quality of the performances he produced. Having been involved in the majority of those Test matches, I can't recall him ever playing a bad game."
McCaw won World Rugby Player of the Year three times in 2006, 2009 and 2010.
