Special Sub-Topic: Legends of Super Rugby: Crusaders Click Here To Play: Legends of Super Rugby: Crusaders

In what year was the Crusaders franchise created?

1996. It was created as part of the Super 12 competition along with 11 other teams, with five of those coming from New Zealand.

1996 was the first year of Super Rugby, and it began as Super 12. Where did the Crusaders place in this inaugural season?

Last. They struggled with only two wins and a draw, and finished last. The two wins were against the Hurricanes from Wellington (Crusaders won 36-13 away), and the Waratahs from New South Wales (Crusaders wn 21-16 at home). The draw was 16-16 at home to Western Province Stormers.

What major city and province is home to the Crusaders?

Christchurch, Canterbury. The feeder teams of the Crusaders are all in the Canterbury area. These teams are Buller, West Coast, Tasman, Canterbury, South Canterbury, and Mid-Canterbury.

The Crusaders won their first title in 1998. Who did they defeat in the final?

Blues. They were the underdogs in this final (the Blue were undefeated in 1997, and had lost only 2 games in the 1998 season). The Crusaders clinched the title in the last minute, when the scores were tied with a try to James Kerr. This was converted by Andrew Merhtens, and the Crusaders won 20-13.

In 2002, the Crusaders went unbeaten. This included a walloping of the Waratahs in the final round robin game. What was the score?

96-19. Andrew Mehrtens converted 13 of the 14 tries scored. The Crusaders became the second team to go through a season undefeated. The Blues were the first (in the the 1997 season). This feat by the Crusaders won all of their games. The Blues drew a match with Northern Transvaal.

In 2003, the Crusaders were in the final against the Blues. Who won and what was the final score?

Blues 21-17. The Crusaders finished second in the round robin and beat the Hurricanes 39-16 in the semi-final. In the final, they led 10-6 at halftime but the Blues scored 15 points to lead 21-10. In the end, the Crusaders only managed to pull the margin back to four.

The 2005 season was brought to a close with the Crusaders playing the Waratahs in the final. The game finished 35-20 in favour of the Crusaders. How many tries were scored?

7. The Crusaders tryscorers were Scott Hamilton, Dave Hewett, Leon MacDonald, and Caleb Ralph. The scorers for the Waratahs were Matt Rogers (two) and Phil Waugh.

2006 brought the start of a new era as Super 14 was created with the admission of the Cheetahs (from South Africa) and Western Force (from Australia). The Crusaders were victors in the final winning 19-12. Who did they defeat?

Hurricanes. This match was played at home at Jade Stadium in Christchurch, in poor visibility due to thick fog. With 20 minutes to go, the scores were tied 9-9. The Hurricanes then only managed three points, to the Crusaders ten.

The Crusaders and the Waratahs faced off in the final in 2008. At the end of this game, the Crusaders farewelled an important man, the coach. What was his name?

Robbie Deans. The Crusaders won this final 20-12. Along with Deans, the Crusaders also said goodbye to Caleb Ralph and Reuben Thorne. Todd Blackadder was later announced as Deans' successor. Reuben Thorne, former Crusaders and All Black captain, left for Japan and Rob Penney was the coach of the Canterbury Rugby team. Robbie Deans moved across the Tasman to become the first-ever international person to coach the Australia rugby union team, the Wallabies.

The 2008 season's final was the 13th final in Super 14 rugby. Of those 13 titles, how many titles did the Crusaders win?

7. They won the majority of the titles in the first 13 seasons. This made them the most successful rugby franchise of super rugby, with only the Blues (three), the Bulls (one), and the Brumbies (two) winning the other six titles. 7 : Crusaders: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008. 3 : Blues: 1996, 1997, 2003. 2 : Brumbies: 2001, 2004. 1 : Bulls: 2007.