Richie McCaw [Source: Newshub]

The ongoing spat between New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA) has prompted a response from the greatest player of his generation.

Richie McCaw has called for calm as the standoff over private equity investment took an ugly turn on Friday.

NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson slammed players’ association boss Rob Nichol for “playing games” in the media and effectively sabotaging the lucrative Silver Lake deal.

The NZRPA and investment company Forsyth Barr – headed by former All Black skipper David Kirk – proposed an alternative deal that would see 5 percent of NZR’s stake sold to consumers.

Robinson fired back, saying he was “shocked and disappointed” by the announcement, claiming NZR had no knowledge of the proposal before it was released to the media.

Speaking to the NZ Herald, McCaw says it is time for a “reasoned debate” as concerns grow the game could be destroyed internally if the two sides can’t come together.

“We’ve got to have a look at it and debate it,” McCaw says of the Forsyth Barr proposal.

“Don’t be afraid of it. It’s not saying one’s definitely better than the other, but the thing I really want to see is to look at these options, and don’t just dismiss it because it wasn’t yours.

“The big thing I hope is that this new proposal on the table actually gets discussed, and not just dismissed.

“For me, it’s another option that I didn’t think was possible, but it looks like it could be.”