All Blacks captain Richie McCaw could be available for the Crusaders’ first Super Rugby play-off match if he pulls up sound from his first match in seven months this weekend.
After his long sabbatical, veteran flanker McCaw will turn out for his club Christchurch against University in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon.
The game is a day after the Crusaders, who have already qualified for the knock-out stages, complete their round-robin program against the Hurricanes in Christchurch.
“The first thing is to get through Saturday,” McCaw said on Wednesday.
“Then it’s about the needs of the Crusaders, so maybe if Saturday goes well you can put your hat in the ring for next week.”
McCaw said whether that happened was up to Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder, “but it is a possibility”.
The 32-year-old loose forward’s last match was the Test against England last December.
McCaw said he had been working hard on his fitness for the past three months and believed he could play the full 80 minutes for his club.
A veteran of 116 Tests for the All Blacks and 120 appearances for the Crusaders, said the sabbatical had come at the right time and had him refreshed for his return.
“I’m excited about getting back into it and that’s the way it should be,” he said.
“My biggest fear was that it would get to the point where I’d stop enjoying it and it was starting to get on top of me a bit.”
McCaw felt for axed Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, who was at the Crusaders’ helm when McCaw captained the team to Super Rugby titles in 2005, 2006 and 2008.
“It’s a pretty brutal industry if things don’t go well,” he said.
“He was a great coach when we had him here and I’m sure whatever teams he goes on to coach will have success going forward, but it’s just the nature of the beast.”