Dan Carter has hailed fellow All Blacks great Richie McCaw as "a legend of the game" ahead of him reaching another career landmark.

McCaw will captain New Zealand for a World Cup record 12th time in Saturday's semi-final against South Africa at Twickenham. Earlier this year, McCaw became the most capped player in Test history, with the Springboks clash set to be his 147th Test. He has also skippered the All Blacks on more than 100 occasions.

All Blacks first five-eighth Carter believes McCaw is one of a kind.

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"He leads the team fantastically well. He is an inspiration, a player that really motivates this side because of his actions," Carter said. "You see him at training. He is first out, and last to leave. His work ethic is fantastic.

"Out on the field, he is the first guy to put his body on the line, and when you are working so closely with him, it inspires you to do the same."

Carter says McCaw's longevity is a result of his professionalism and desire, and loose forward Victor Vito says there is an unspoken resolve in the team to send their skipper off in style with McCaw expected to announce his retirement after the tournament.

"We've got some pretty big guys in terms of the level of dedication and loyalty they've given to our team," Vito said. "We haven't really talked about it, but if we don't get the job done, guys like that we won't be seeing in black any more.

"You play the game because you love the game, but also because of the guys that are there, and it would just be awesome if we could send them off properly."

New Zealand are coming off a 62-13 win over France in last weekend's quarter-finals. It was a result and performance that underlined their status as clear favourites to win a history-making second successive world title.

Carter is expecting a titanic struggle.

"You often get asked the question who the toughest opposition is, and it does vary, but consistently throughout my career South Africa have been right up there," he said. "The way they play the game, they are extremely physical, and you know that once you've played them, you will be sore for a few days. Nothing will change this weekend.

"It's a different ball game when you are playing South Africa in a World Cup play-off game. It means so much more. It's a huge challenge."