Jones has long described his often bizarre comments as baiting New Zealanders. He's not the first 'Fleet Streeter' to have done this.
Kiwis had long been used to the verbal fisticuffs since their own T.P. McLean and Welshman J.B.G Thomas regularly lobbed verbal hand grenades at each other in their post-tour books, aimed at achieving the same readership appeal that Jones has since pursued.
The predictability of it all has parallels with the annual race to decry the haka whenever an All Black team is due to tour Britain, and especially England, and the erroneous claims that All Black strength is entirely dependent on an annual hoovering of talent through the Pacific Islands.
That fails to remember that England especially is not averse to claiming Pacific players when it suits, although Britain has some form in this regard having encouraged the transference of the best minds of New Zealand for more than 100 years, and Britain's other former colonies through the Rhodes Scholarship scheme, to boost its intelligence factor. Ironically, if rugby had not tied McCaw to New Zealand he may well have been a Rhodes Scholar.
But all that aside, the inadequacy of Jones' argument is borne by his discounting of those afore-mentioned two Rugby World Cup wins. The first in New Zealand was achieved under McCaw while he played the playoff games on one foot, as an effective example of inspiration to teammates as possible, while the second in England was a celebration of one of the great eras of the game in what was the finest of all Rugby World Cup finals.
What adds strength to McCaw's position among the leaders of repute is the way he picked up his captaincy skills from the very pits of despair as a result of the Cardiff debacle in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal loss to France in 2007.
To move from that low to the high of 2011, with a side required to play the final with its fourth choice first five-eighths, speaks volumes to McCaw's leadership.
There is a pretty hefty list of evidence in McCaw's favour including the fact that in 110 Tests as captain his side only lost 10 times and in his 148-Test career he enjoyed a winning percentage of 88.5 percent.
Apart from any other consideration, the fact is that in a time when flankers were the victims of multiple law changes, McCaw remained the most consistent of performers in his position while also leading his side.
To ignore those factors in considering the top contenders as leading captains says more about Jones than it does about McCaw. As Donald Trump might tweet: 'Sad'.
To remember how New Zealanders felt about McCaw's contribution to one of the greatest of all rugby eras, 10 years as No1 side in the world of which he led for five years, watch the crowd reaction when he left the field after his last home Test at Eden Park in 2015. And Justin Marshall's words sum it all up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuLbW6etzBA
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