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Two-time New Zealand World Cup winning captain Richie McCaw has decided to hang up his boots, after leading his team to a second consecutive World Cup in his final appearance, reports BBC Sports.The 34-year old announced his decision at a press conference on Thursday. He played a world-record 148 Tests for All-Blacks, of which 131 were wins, and led the All Blacks to two World Cup final victories.The star skipper made his debut as a 20 year old against Ireland in Dublin in 2001, and ever since his rise to fame was exponential. He holds the record of being the first All-Blacks player to feature in a 100 Tests and lead his team in 111 matches."Today, I thought about whether it was the right thing to do. But I'm going to be hanging up my boots. That last game(World Cup final), to have that as the lasting memory of the last time on the pitch — pretty satisfying. My last game was the World Cup final, so the end of something that has been a big part of my life," he said in the press conference.The superstar player also paid tribute to his former teammate Jonah Lomu, who passed away recently, and termed his untimely death as a ‘big shock’. He also recalled his time spent with Lomu as his teammate."My thoughts and condolences go to his family...When I became an All Black he was in the team. To play with him was amazing. I remember one of my first games, I climbed off the bus and the mob came towards me and I thought 'this is pretty cool, being an All Black' but they kept going because they only wanted to be near to Jonah. There are a lot of people round the world hurting at the loss of a great man."The Kiwi also recollected how he had thought of retirement prior to the start of the World Cup. "I made no secret this year was probably going to be my last, but deep down I didn't want to shut the door totally. I was worried the emotion might get to me in a World Cup year, by leaving that door open it didn't feel final until now. It has been a hell of a journey over the last 15 years. I've been privileged to do what I love for so long. Here's to new adventures."Richie is set to embark on a new career path as a commercial helicopter pilot in New Zealand.
