Why Richie McCaw wouldn't lead the haka

There's not a lot Richie McCaw didn't do for the All Blacks, but former halfback Piri Weepu revealed the one thing he struggled to get the All Black great to commit to leading the haka.

Speaking to Marae, the 33-year-old Weepu spilt the beans on the conversation around who had to lead the haka.

Weepu said he'd always glance at McCaw in the hope he'd step up.

"I used to tell Richie to try and lead the haka, and he'd always look at me like 'nah, nah, nah.'

"I always wanted him to lead it while I was there."

"Basically, if you were in the team and you were Maori, you had the mantle to lead the haka."

While McCaw has led the All Blacks in a haka, team protocol was to have a player with Maori heritage to take the lead.

Weepu was an integral part of the All Blacks when it came to performing the haka.

The halfback led the All Blacks haka 51 times in his 71 tests between 2004 and 2013.

He led the Ka Mate version 26 times and the newer Kapa o Pango 25 times since its introduction against the Springboks in 2005.

The world-cup winner is now playing rugby for RC Narbonne in the French Pro D2 league.

• This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission.