Sunday 1 November 2015 11:15, UK
Richie McCaw became the first captain to lift the Rugby World Cup twice on Saturday and admitted he may postpone his decision over his international retirement.
McCaw left the field to a standing ovation at Twickenham after leading the All Blacks to a 35-17 win over Australia in his 148th Test.
"I still don't want it to end. I'm still part of this team, I'm going to enjoy today, how can you have enough of this?," he said after New Zealand became World Cup winners for a record third time.
"I don't think you ever have enough of it. If you get moments like this why would you ever call it a day."
Already assured of his place in the pantheon of All Black greats and hailed as the best of all time by his coach Steve Hansen, McCaw's mental and physical resilience has defined a career he calls a privilege.
"Having played in a wonderful World Cup final with a great bunch of men, I'm just so proud and honoured to wear this jersey again today and I don't think you can get enough of that. If you get moments like this, why would you ever call it a day?" McCaw said, after being asked for the umpteenth time about his retirement plans.
"We've done it a lot of times over the years but to do it when it really counts in a World Cup final, it shows the calibre of the men we've got."
McCaw's statistics show just how the three-times World Rugby Player of the Year has made his mark since his test debut in 2001, a man-of-the-match performance against Ireland that was a sign of things to come.
Of his 148 test appearances, an all-time record, he has celebrated victory on a remarkable 131 occasions and suffered defeat only 15 times.
Compare that to New Zealand's record since his debut when he has not been on the pitch: they have won 10, lost seven and drawn one.
McCaw has led the All Blacks a remarkable 110 times, yet he might never have reached that milestone had he stepped down after New Zealand's 2007 World Cup failure, when they were bundled out in the quarter-finals.
Concluding that he needed to "man up", McCaw stayed at the helm and four years later guided New Zealand to glory on home soil, despite being hindered by a broken foot.
Four years on McCaw could savour another triumph with the core of that 2011 side still in place.
"We said four years ago after the last one that we'd get on the road again with the end goal being playing here at Twickenham in a World Cup final and try and do something that no one else has done," McCaw added.
"I'm proud of the way the guys have done it today. We played damn good rugby there, then we lost the momentum in the second half but we kept our composure and came home strong, which has been a hallmark of this team the last four years."
