All Blacks captain McCaw says continuing to 2016 ‘would be reasonably unlikely’

New Zealand rugby union skipper Richie McCaw, with 124 Test matches under his belt since 2001, says after the 2015 World Cup he may be ready to call it a career. 'Next year is not a given anymore.'

Richie McCaw made his first All Black cap in 2001. Ross Setford / AP / NZPA

All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is contemplating retiring from rugby following the 2015 World Cup in England, local media reported on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old flanker led the All Blacks to their second Webb Ellis trophy in 2011 and took a six-month sabbatical from rugby last year to boost his chances of being fit for the 2015 tournament.

McCaw has played 124 Test matches for the All Blacks since making his debut in 2001 and is considered one of the all-time greats in New Zealand’s national game, but said he was uncertain if he would even make Steve Hansen’s World Cup squad.

“You never know but at the moment just to play next year is not a given any more,” McCaw told The Press newspaper in Christchurch.

“I haven’t even considered beyond (2015) but I would say it ... would be reasonably unlikely,” he added when asked if he would be playing in 2016.

McCaw did not pursue a lucrative short-term contract when he was granted the sabbatical by the New Zealand Rugby Union and has said in the past he was not interested in playing rugby offshore.

“If you have had enough of being bashed up in training and all those things, going over there just to earn some money doesn’t really appeal,” he added.

“I would say that is pretty unlikely, too, but, again, you never say never.”