Head to Head: McCaw v Dusautoir

With World Cup glory on the line at Eden Park on Sunday both teams will be hoping that their talismanic skippers are able to impose themselves on the opposition to give them the edge.

French captain Thierry Dusautoir needs no introduction to New Zealanders, he was colossal in the famous (or infamous) World Cup quarterfinal in 2007, scoring his team's first try and making a superhuman amount of tackles as France dashed another Kiwi World Cup dream.

A comparison of the two captains who carry the hopes of their nations is still absorbing.

Both have built their reputations around their high work-rate and effective technique in the tackle area, but that is not the only point of similarity between the two.

McCaw may have a slight weight advantage (106kg v 95kg) which helps when carrying the ball into contact and trying to force his way over the gainline but otherwise, on paper, there appears little to separate the two.

Statistical comparison - Thierry Dusautoir v Richie McCaw:

Dusautoir (29 years old):
Total minutes played: 400
Matches played: 5
Average tackles made per match: 15.8

McCaw (30 years old):
Total minutes played: 312
Matches played: 4
Average tackles made per match: 14.5

McCaw has shown great heart and determination to play through the pain of a niggling foot injury at the World Cup, but by the same token if there is one player in the French team whose guts and commitment cannot be questioned it is Dusautoir.

When the two battled it out in their pool match which the All Blacks won comfortably McCaw, who was playing a slightly different role to his counterpart, made more tackles (20 v 15), more turnovers (3 v 1) and more runs (12 runs for 50m v 10 runs for 46m).

When comparing their most recent performances - in their respective semifinals - things seem a little closer, although once again McCaw carried the ball far more than Dusatoir (11 runs for 30m v 4 runs for 16m) whose team kicked a lot and had to make do with a mere 40 percent of possession.

Our verdict: "Although technically these players are playing in different positions, they are both leaders of two of the most fearsome loose trios in world rugby and their individual performances will largely define their side's prospects. Dusatoir will play with plenty of passion as he tries to repeat his heroics four years ago but there is an overwhelming feeling that the hour has cometh for the All Blacks and the man who is likely to step up and end 24 years of heartache for his country is McCaw."

By Michael de Vries