Rugby: Team of '96 back together

All Black captain Richie McCaw is reunited with his former mentors at the Otago Secondary Schools Association leaders' breakfast at the Alhambra-Union clubrooms yesterday. Pictured (from left) are 1996 under-16 team manager Gary Wheeler (holding McCaw's proof of age document), McCaw and team coach Brian Ashwin. Photo by Peter McIntosh.

McCaw was the guest speaker at the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association and the Otago Boys High School Foundation breakfast at the Alhambra-Union clubrooms yesterday.

The manager of the team Gary Wheeler had kept the age document that McCaw was obliged to produce to play in the annual South Island tournament at Ashburton. It showed that McCaw was born on December 31, 1980 and was eligible.

McCaw was a pupil at Otago Boys High School in 1996 and the long term school First XV coach Brian Ashwin coached the Otago under-16 team at that time.

Another member of the team was Jason Macdonald who was the hooker in the Crusaders Super 14 team that was captained by McCaw this year.

Canterbury beat Otago in the final of the under-16 tournament in 1996.