Kieran Read reveals the interaction with Richie McCaw that left him 's******* himself'

Outgoing All Blacks captain Kieran Read has opened up about one of his first interactions with Richie McCaw that left him 's******* himself'.

In the infancy of his professional rugby playing career, a 21-year-old Read was picked to room with McCaw while the pair were playing for Canterbury.

The 148-test ex-All Black was someone that Read had looked up to while coming through the ranks.

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In fact, McCaw had already been appointed as captain of the All Blacks at that stage of his career, despite being just five years older than Read.

As a revered rugby figure throughout New Zealand and a personal hero of Read's, the 34-year-old saw it as a daunting prospect to be sharing a room with his idol.

“I remember watching him with my mates at school. We’d come home and watch the All Black games. Absolutely he was a hero of mine,” Read told TVNZ's Seven Sharp.

“As a young fella you’re looking through seeing who’s rooming with you and then, yeah, I was s******* myself.”

At that point in time, Read was only three years out of Auckland's Rosehill College, and hoped that his unorthodox rugby journey as a schoolboy could help inspire others.

He attended elite private school St Kentigern College in Auckland for a year on a scholarship, but returned to the less-esteemed south Auckland school, where he went on to become head boy.