Former Manu Samoa No 10 and freelance rugby scribe Campbell Burnes argues that Sam Cane’s legacy suffers because he succeeded the incomparable Richie McCaw.
Sam Cane’s 13-season All Blacks, 104-Test international career is done.
So, the question is: what is or will be his legacy? Will he be recalled as a great All Black, a very good All Black, or just a hard tackler who had four years as skipper under Ian Foster? These are not straightforward questions.
Cane arrived in the All Blacks in 2012 as a young understudy to Richie McCaw. Pundits admired his maturity and his toughness (physical and mental) and, for four years, he largely avoided criticism. Emerging as a leader, he then had to cope with the rise of Ardie Savea, a very different player, an all-action dynamo who in turn failed to garner widespread approval because fans were looking for the next McCaw.
We know Cane has had to overcome much adversity in his career – three serious injuries, including a fractured neck – that might have floored a lesser man. But he has always made the comeback.
In 2020, Foster anointed him as the successor to Kieran Read. Many wondered if it was the right decision at the time, given that playing Ardie Savea at No 8 and Cane at No 7 meant the blindside flanker had to be a certain ball-winning, bruising type. The loose trio balance didn’t look quite right.
Cane responded by being awarded the NZR player of the year gong for 2020, that Covid-affected year.
In 2021, injury rubbed out most of his season for the All Blacks and in 2022 the All Blacks were at low ebb.
Undoubtedly, his finest day came at the RWC 2023 quarter-final, where he was the central presence in that epic victory over Ireland. Just a fortnight later, he was vilified after his (possibly unjust) red card in the gut-wrenching defeat in the final.
It seemed his days in black were over, especially with a new regime and the fact that he was battling a serious back injury. But he made it back, again, and raised the 100-Test milestone in Wellington against the Wallabies. Even many of his detractors had to admire his guts and commitment.
There was talk of him not making the cut for the northern tour, as he was departing New Zealand rugby in 2025, but make it he did, and performed solidly, even if his 12 stitches and head injury from the Ireland Test ruled him out of a fitting finale.
Cane was never going to be talked about in the same revered tones as McCaw. Who, after all, would be? Maybe that was his misfortune, to follow the mentally toughest player of all time and one of rugby’s greatest and most decorated warriors.
But Cane carved out a career of which to be proud and it wasn’t just about having granite shoulders and good tackling technique. He was a ‘follow-me’ leader and a thoughtful interview subject. Only those with the coldest of hearts would not wish him well on the next chapter of his rugby life in Japan.
Well played, Sam.
