27 Sep 2012

Cane not counting on replacing McCaw

5:50 pm on 27 September 2012

The All Blacks loosie Sam Cane says he'd relish the chance to cover the absence of openside Richie McCaw but he's not counting his chickens before they hatch.

The Chiefs flanker is first in line to fill the number 7 jersey when McCaw takes a 6-month sabbatical from rugby next year.

Cane knows he has the edge over other pretenders to McCaw's throne but he's also well aware there's plenty of opportunities for someone to knock him off his perch.

He says a good performance in Sunday's Rugby Championship match against Argentina will do his chances no harm.

Cane is likely to be on the bench when coach Steve Hansen names his team for the Buenos Aires clash tomorrow (Friday) morning.