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Rugby-New Zealand captain Richie McCaw

WELLINGTON, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Factbox on New Zealand rugby union captain Richie McCaw, who announced his retirement on Thursday. * Born 31 Dec. 1980 (age 34) in Oamaru, New Zealand. * Made his test debut at openside flanker for New Zealand, aged 20, against Ireland in Dublin in 2001, and was named man of the match. * Helped the Canterbury Crusaders win the Super Rugby championship in 2002. He won three more Super Rugby titles with the Crusaders, all as captain, in 2005, 2006 and 2008. * Made first World Cup appearance in 2003. The All Blacks were beaten by Australia in the semi-finals and finished third. * Captained New Zealand for the first time in 2004, against Wales, when regular skipper Tana Umaga was rested. * Appointed as full-time New Zealand captain in 2006 and led the All Blacks to the southern hemisphere rugby championship title. Named World Player of the Year for the first time. * Led the All Blacks to their worst ever performance at a World Cup in 2007, losing in the quarter-finals to France. * Named World Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, becoming the first player to win the award three times -- a feat since matched by his team mate Dan Carter. * Led the All Blacks to their first World Cup victory in 24 years in 2011, beating France 8-7 in the final at Eden Park, Auckland. * Led New Zealand to their 13th rugby championship in 2014, the seventh under his captaincy. * Surpassed Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll as the most capped player in international rugby history in 2015 and finished his career with a record total of 148 test appearances, scoring 27 tries. * Led the All Blacks to a second successive World Cup title in 2015, beating Australia in the final at Twickenham in what would be his last international appearance. * Skippered New Zealand a record 110 times in total, for a record 97 wins, 11 losses and two draws. Was the only player to captain a team to two World Cup titles. (Reporting by Julian Linden, editing by Nick Mulvenney)