The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground is Orangetheory Stadium, formerly known as AMI Stadium, before that Jade Stadium, now known as Lancaster Park. The Crusaders have won 10 titles and are the only team in the South to have won Super Rugby 3 Consecutive times.
About Crusaders (rugby union) in brief
The Crusaders are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground is Orangetheory Stadium, formerly known as AMI Stadium, before that Jade Stadium, now known as Lancaster Park. They are the current Super Rugby champions. The Crusaders have won 10 titles and are the only team in the South to have won Super Rugby 3 Consecutive times. They hosted and won their 10th Super Rugby Title against Jaguares on 6 July 2019- making them the onlyteam in the Southern Hemisphere to have done so. The original Crusaders team of 1996 was captained by All Blacks prop Richard Loe and coached by Vance Stewart. They struggled in the inaugural season and finished bottom of the table with only two wins. The team went on to win all three titles from 1998 to 2000 despite each final being played away from home. In 2008 they hosted the final against the Waratahs, and won the match 20–12 to claim their seventh title. Their eighth championship came in the 2017 Super rugby competition against the Lions, and they won 37–18, securing their ninth title. And the First ever tour was a pre-visit to South Africa prior to the start of Super 12. The first ever Super Rugby tour was in 1996, with the team playing in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
They have been led by only three CEO’s throughout their 25-year history; former New Zealand Rugby CEO Steve Tew, Hamish Riach and incumbent Colin Mansbridge. Their last CEO was Todd Blackadder, who succeeded Loe as captain and took over as coach the following season. They won their first title in 1998, despite starting the season with three losses in their first four games. With five wins, the team finished the round-robin stage in sixth place. In 2002 they again reached the final, although they were beaten on both occasions. In 2005 was the last season of the Super 12 before its expansion. After finishing top of the league in that season, they went onto to host the final in which they defeated the War atahs. In the semi-final against the Coastal Sharks, they won 36–32. Their second-place finish allowed them to host their semi-finals against the Blues, where they won 29–28 against the defending champions, the Blues. After the game was tied 10-3 after 53 minutes, Norm Maxwell scored a try, with each team scoring a penalty, then a penalty with one minute remaining. The match ended in a 3–0 half time to take a 10–3 lead after 10 minutes of regulation time, but the Blues scored a first half time try to take the lead after a half time break. The following season saw a change in captain and coach, withTodd Blackadder succeeding Loe, with Wayne Smith taking over as captain. The next season saw the team win their last seven games, culminating in a last-round win over the coastal Sharks.
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