Richie McCaw surprises students at rugby training
When Nelson College rugby players gathered for a training session on Friday morning, they weren’t expecting to see one of the all-time greats.
Richie McCaw, a Westpac ambassador, was in Nelson on Friday to talk leadership and life skills with the college’s pupils and other student leaders from around the region.
After the training, McCaw was interviewed on stage by two Nelson College students, including head boy James Matthews, 17, who once had posters of the former All Black on his wall.
Chatting to the rugby great was surreal, James said.
“I was definitely a little bit nervous when I first met him but, he was a really, really nice guy,” James said.
“He gave some really insightful ideas on handling high pressure situations and leadership and leading by example … and he kind of gave everyone some tips and ideas on just how to apply that to their own personal life.”
McCaw expressed the idea of leading by example, and he told students that the biggest pitfall in leadership was “not having your actions match up with what you’re saying,” James said.
“And so that kind of was pretty impactful I think for a lot of us … you can’t really tell people what to do without doing it yourself,” James said.
Student leaders from other local high schools and intermediates were invited, and a Q&A was also held. Nelson College assistant principal Stu McLean said a lot of the questions put to McCaw were “really insightful”.
“They weren’t just your stock standard ‘what was it like to be an All Black’, it was ‘what’s your piece of advice for a young person?’ sort of thing.”
McLean said it was an honour and privilege for the school to have the “mana of Richie McCaw” on campus.
“He’s really approachable and yet he can talk quite humbly about his experience and provide some quite meaningful life lessons,” McLean said.
“So it’s fantastic, not only for Nelson College but also for the students across the top of the south.”
Nelson College rugby players were also invited to a special training that morning, and they weren’t told that McCaw would be joining in.
“So when he turned up, it had quite a bit of an impact on them,” McLean said.
It had been a decade since the two-time Rugby World Cup holder officially hung up his boots, and his run with the young players on Friday was about providing leadership, rather than technical rugby skills.
“He kept coming back to ‘I’m glad I did it, rather than I wish I had done it’ and just taking opportunities that come along,” McLean said.
By Matthew Hampson & Warren Gamble, Nelson Mail
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