Why Richie McCaw is at King Charles III coronation as everyone ...

Many of the famous faces on show at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla were ones you'd expect to see.

Former Prime Ministers, foreign dignitaries, members of the royal family and even Ant and Dec - all par for the course.

But seeing a World Cup-winning All Black captain rock up at Westminster Abbey caught more than a few people off guard.

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Richie McCaw, the New Zealand great who led his country to World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015, was present at the coronation as part of his home country's delegation.

Other members of the 18-strong New Zealand delegation included Abdul Aziz, who tried to overcome the gunman in the 2019 Christchurch mosque shooting in which 51 people died, and Willie Apiata, who was the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for New Zealand.

McCaw attended as a recipient of the Order of New Zealand, being the youngest person ever to ever be awarded this honour in 2015. The ONZ is a higher honour than knighthood, and is awarded for "outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity."

Still, McCaw's presence in the precession, minutes before the arrival of King Charles III, raised a few eyebrows on social media and prompted a swathe of one joke in particular.

Many questioned if the back-rower, known for being so adept in the dark arts to the point of seemingly being exempt from giving away penalties, had entered Westminster Abbey from a side door.

Former Wales centre Tom Shanklin simply tweeted what many of us were thinking: "Richie McCaw???"

Quite.

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