Josh Kronfeld, a pretty good openside in his day who played 54 tests between 1994 and 2000, was highly critical of the move by John Mitchell to draft McCaw in for the tour of Ireland, Scotland and Argentina after just 17 matches for Canterbury.
"You might as well just give All Black jerseys to everybody," Kronfeld said then. "The fact they picked guys off one NPC season is bloody incredible."
Kronfeld still stands by those comments - "you still have to do your time," he says - but the fact McCaw will tomorrow become the first All Black to play 100 tests proves Mitchell saw something special in the young McCaw.
What we have seen since is a player who has not only redefined openside play but also set a benchmark for All Blacks captains. He is a special player and a special person and will occupy a position at the top table of New Zealand rugby lore.
That will only be enhanced if he becomes the first All Blacks captain since David Kirk in 1987 to lift the Webb Ellis Cup. He is already the most successful All Blacks captain, but winning the World Cup would be the pinnacle of his career.
"I think he's an inspirational person for everyone - New Zealanders, the team - by being the person he is and the way he plays the game," said coach Graham Henry, who first appointed McCaw as captain in 2004 at the age of 23 when regular skipper Tana Umaga was rested.
"I think his steel, his bravery, his ability to lead from the front and lead by example, the respect the players have for him [are what make him unique]."
McCaw is uncomfortable with the attention. Anything to do with the All Blacks is not about him, in his eyes, and he squirmed a little as Henry delivered his testimonial.
In many respects, the 30-year-old will be pleased to get the distraction of 100 tests behind him so he can get on with more important things, like winning a World Cup. In the past he might have thrived on the attention and adulation, but not now.
"When I first started in the All Blacks, it was all about me," McCaw said. "I wanted to prove I was good enough to be here and I was good enough to play international rugby and I could do this and that.
"After a while, you reassess your goals, and especially as a captain it's more about the team performing. What I do is secondary.
"If the team goes out and plays a blinder and I play OK, well that's better than the other way around. That's where your goals and priorities change.
"There's no doubt I still want to be the best player and have a big game every week but I will make sure the team needs are put forward first. Captaincy makes you think like that.
"There are challenges [being captain], no doubt about that. But that's what I get stimulated by, that's why I play the game.
"Obviously being captain and wanting to be a good one, that is a challenge, but when you do it well and you feel like you're improving, that's where you get satisfaction out of it."
One thing McCaw does is demand excellence from his team-mates. He sets the tone and is usually the first one on the training pitch.
Henry relayed a story about how McCaw called a meeting in Auckland at 4am on the eve of their journey to play a test in Cape Town in 2009 "to set the tone for the trip".
"I just thought that epitomised his standards and his commitment to this team and what it all means," Henry said.
Team-mates recognise this.
Keven Mealamu talked about his "calmness" and called him a "true leader", Andy Ellis described him as a "great leader" and Conrad Smith said he was "special".
He is all that but he has also courted a few more comments over the last decade.
Irreverent South African coach Peter de Villiers labelled him a "cheat" and Springboks lock Victor Matfield once said referees let "him get away with murder" at the breakdown. Video footage was even released once to apparently prove this point.
McCaw probably takes it as a compliment. He should.
A good openside should operate at the edge of the law and one of his greatest qualities has been his ability to adapt to the law changes that threatened his influence.
"When I look back, I remember someone saying early on great All Blacks are the ones who do their job every single time," he says.
"They don't go up and down. They stay consistent. That's what defines the top players. When I look back over time, that's something I am reasonably proud of.
"There has been the odd day when I feel like I haven't played as well as I could have but I have kept a standard I have been reasonably happy with over the time.
"There are some big games in there that stick out a wee bit that you know you had a big influence over what happened on the scoreboard which are the ones you tuck away.
"Whether I'm a great All Black, that's for others to to decide, but what I have done is have the will to be like that.
"Whether you are or not is probably irrelevant but you act like that. It's how you train, how you carry yourself, what you would do in the team. That's the attitude that comes with it.
"What I try to do is act like I think a person like that would... and not be satisfied. As soon as you think you have played your best, well, you have to keep redefining how you can get better.
"I'm obviously pretty proud [to reach 100]. It's an achievement. I remember the first one and I was hoping like hell I would get a second."
It was pretty obvious he would.
He was man of the match in his debut against Ireland and he's been a dominant figure in most games since. He has three times been named IRB Player of the Year and is considered by many, Henry included, as the most influential player in the world.
No other jersey motivates him like the black one and it is why he hasn't seriously considered playing overseas. He has talked about finishing his career in New Zealand - he recently signed a new four-year deal - and the NZRU believe McCaw could still play a role at the 2015 World Cup.
He would be 34 then and would have amassed a tally of tests for the All Blacks that might never be surpassed.
But for McCaw it's not about the numbers. Tomorrow night will be "special", as he says, but his sights are set on a different number, namely October 23.