Fan chooses Thorne as All Black captain of the decade

Tuesday 5 January 2010
Published By: Ben Welch
International Rugby > New Zealand

Richie McCaw is likely to go down as one of the all-time great captains in rugby history, but that isn't enough to earn him the accolade of best of the decade from one fan.

Writing for thesilverfern.com, WildMan shortlisted McCaw, Tana Umage and Reuben Thorne as the top three All Black skippers of the noughties.

And while most would expect McCaw to pick up the prize with ease, the poster opted for Thorne thanks to his superior winning record as captain.

Umaga may have achieved a whitewash over the Lions, but he was quickly eliminated from the running.

And even though McCaw has won 86 per cent of his 43 games as captain, Thorne controversially wins thanks to his 87 per cent record - albeit from just 23 games.

The site has been selecting its best team of the decade recently, while New Zealand's victory over Australia in Sydney in 2000 was named the game of the noughties.