All Blacks captain plans to take rest

WELLINGTON — All Blacks captain Richie McCaw is to take an extended break from rugby, sitting out next year's Super 15 championship and the June tests against France, Canterbury Crusaders officials confirmed Sunday.

The talismanic open-side flanker and three-time IRB player of the year is to enact the six-month sabbatical clause in his contract in the hope it will help extend his playing days through to the next World Cup in 2015.

"It is definitely going to happen," Todd Blackadder, the coach of McCaw's Crusaders Super 15 side, told the Sunday Star-Times.

"Richie is going to take a sabbatical. He will probably be available after June. He won't be available for the tests or Super Rugby, so he's going to get a good break."

The 31-year-old McCaw will play in the All Blacks' remaining Rugby Championship matches against Argentina and South Africa over the next two weeks and the end-of-year tour to Europe before taking to the sidelines.

View the original article here

Ex-All Blacks coach Allen passes away

WELLINGTON — Sir Fred Allen, whose record of 14 wins in 14 tests makes him the most successful All Blacks rugby coach of all time, has died of leukemia at age 92, his family said.

A famously hard taskmaster dubbed "The Needle" by his players, Allen coached New Zealand from 1966 to 1968 which is remembered as one of the team's greatest eras.

Allen played six tests among 21 matches at flyhalf for the All Blacks from 1946 to 1949 and was captain in all of those games. He had previously played for the famous New Zealand army team which toured Britain after World War II, playing in 28 of its 38 matches.

He coached Auckland province from 1957 to 1963 when it defended the Ranfurly Shield challenge trophy a record 25 times.

View the original article here