All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has revealed that he feels better prepared for next month’s World Cup than when he skippered the side for the 2007 tournament.
New Zealand were knocked out of the last competition in France in the quarter-finals and the flanker came under much criticism for his leadership.
"You know what you're in for, you know what to expect and I think a lot of us who were there, four years on have played a lot more rugby and been through a lot more experiences," McCaw told the official All Blacks website.
"That doesn't guarantee anything but hopefully when it comes down to things we need to get right at training so that we can perform."
Despite failing to live up to his nation’s expectations last time around, McCaw is relishing the opportunity to lead the team in the tournament on home turf.
"It is exciting. And if you were going to choose, out of all the places to play in a World Cup you'd probably choose your home country wouldn't you? That's the way I look at it," he said.
"It's not an easy thing to win so you've just got to do it right, but to have your friends and family and fans to get a feel of it too is pretty special."
New Zealand kick off their World Cup campaign against Tonga on Friday, September 9.
