NEW ZEALAND CAPTAIN Richie McCaw is not resting on his laurels as the All Blacks approach the proposition of an unbeaten season.
The All Blacks rallied to beat England 30-22 at Twickenham on Saturday, originally letting a 14-point lead slip to trail late – only for Julian Savea to cross for his second try to seal their 13th win of the year.
It was a visit to tackle the England at Twickenham in 2012 that cost them an unbeaten season last year, although Steve Hansen’s men kept alive the hope of the feat with a strong finish.
McCaw said he took nothing for granted ahead of their season finale against Ireland at Aviva Stadium in Dublin next Sunday.
“We’ve given ourselves the opportunity, haven’t we?” he said.
“The key to doing that is not just turning up and hoping that will happen.
“Obviously we’ll enjoy tonight and celebrate a couple of guys’ milestones, but come Monday we’re back on the job to prepare for another big match.
“If we get that right and we go out and perform we give ourselves the chance.
“And it would be pretty nice over December to sit back and reflect on that.”
McCaw said it was slightly disappointed milestone man Dan Carter could not run out his 100th Test match due to an Achilles injury.
“He’s obviously very proud to play 100 Tests and I think he would have loved to have been out there for 80 minutes and come off injury free but that’s not the case,” he said.
“He’s a bit disappointed by that, but on top of that, to get that milestone, he’s got to be pretty proud. He’s got a smile on his face at least which is cool because he deserves that.”
Man-of-the-match Savea shrugged off claiming the credit for his two-try performance, saying it was a team effort.
“I can’t really take full credit. The boys worked for the sake of the team and created a few holes for the back line,” Savea said.
“It was pretty special. Obviously, with the result last year and a couple of our boys reached some huge milestones. So it was good to get the win for them.”
