All Black Richie McCaw insists his 'feud' with Quade Cooper is all over

RICHIE McCaw has ended his feud with Quade Cooper and feels freshly energised for extending the Bledisloe Cup blackout of the Wallabies.

ALL Blacks king Richie McCaw has ended his feud with Quade Cooper but the bad news is he feels freshly energised for extending the Bledisloe Cup blackout of the Wallabies until he retires in two years.

The champion flanker was fizzing like a freshly opened bottle of champagne after his 15 comeback minutes for the Crusaders in their 38-9 demolition of the Reds' finals campaign last Saturday night in Christchurch.

After a seven month break from the top level, he was nervous pre-game, the deepseated hunger for more trophies flamed and so did the will to keep flying into the brutal collisions of his breakdown realm at 32.

Those were exactly the feelings McCaw craved for in the build-up to the Bledisloe Test against the Wallabies on August 17 in Sydney so his mind could commit to the 2015 World Cup in England.

"It was just the excitement. I don't think it ever disappeared but certainly today reminded me of why I play," said the 13-season veteran.

McCaw relished watching big dogs Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Israel Dagg and Sam Whitelock fire a warning shot across the bows of Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, who is in the Wallabies job full-time far earlier than he had hoped because of the Reds' hasty exit.

"I don't know what he'd be thinking but he's got more time to worry about that now," McCaw grinned without malice at giving McKenzie more time in the Wallabies hot seat.

McCaw painted a sobering picture that Cooper and Will Genia, the world's best halfback, would be neutralised again on August 17 if the pack in front of them were physically pummelled and out-played at rucks as the Reds forwards were.

"There's no doubt about that. No matter how good your No.9 and No.10 are, if you can't get go-forward ball or ball they can play with, it's pretty hard for them to show their skills," All Blacks skipper McCaw said. "That's where we dictated...we shut down any good ball they got and eliminated their effect."

The media and fans have repeatedly revved up the Cooper-McCaw thing as fractious and ongoing since their 2011 run-in in Brisbane and McCaw's snipe in his own 2012 autobiography that "players like Quade get sorted."

The booing Christchurch crowd may not have moved on. Cooper has and so did McCaw, publically, after the win.

"Yeah, you can stop writing them (stories) now. It's something that's been blown out of proportion if you ask me," McCaw said. "I've always said there is nothing personal there, I respect him as a player, there's no douibt. That's all we need to say about it really."

The Kiwis feel they have Cooper covered. Where once the gap between the Reds playmaker and Carter hinted at narrowing, there is a gulf such was the Kiwi's masterful night in Christchurch with crisp passing and his extra 2013 zeal to take on the line when running.

Reds skipper James Horwill said the pain of defeat was acute because the team had played so far below its capability.

He still gave rich credit to how well the Crusaders played and suggested they had the class and form to win the final even away from home.