Canterbury Crusaders

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Crusaders
Image:CanCrusaders.gif
Founded	1996
Team Colours	Red and black
Home Venue	Jade Stadium, Christchurch
Major Sponsor	Ford
Championships	( 5) 1998,1999,2000,2002,2005
Team History	Crusaders (1996-Present)
Coach	Robbie Deans
Assistant Coach	Vern Cotter
Captain	Richie McCaw
Website	wwww.crfu.co.nz

The Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders) are a New Zealand Rugby Union team based in Christchurch, New Zealand, Jade Stadium, and representing the Buller, Tasman, West Coast, Canterbury, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury unions. Their biggest rivals are the Blues.

The Crusaders' name was chosen to conjure up images of the kind of brave and daring deeds which Canterbury teams have sought to produce on the rugby pitch. Equally importantly, the name recalls the English heritage of the city of Christchurch, which was established by English emigrants in the 19th Century and is often described as the most English city outside of England.

The Crusaders compete in the Super 14 competition, which they won five of the 10 years in which it was known as the Super 12 (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005). They are also the only team in the history of the competition to date to have won the final match on the road, winning all of their consecutive titles from 1998 to 2000 away from home.

In 2002, the Crusaders had a perfect season, winning all 11 games in the main body of the tournament, and then their semi-final and the final. This was their first season under the leadership of Reuben Thorne, who also captained the All Blacks throughout 2002 and 2003. Richie McCaw then assumed the position and captained the team to its fifth Super 12 championship in 2005. After the 2005 season the side farewelled Crusaders legends Andrew Mehrtens and Justin Marshall who had played for the team since their inception in 1996.

The Crusaders main home ground is the 36,000-capacity Jade Stadium in Christchurch. When playing at Jade Stadium, they have a pre-match event where the Conquest of Paradise plays, and several horsemen dressed as knights circle the field, drawing cheers from the crowd. Each year the Crusaders usually take a game to another part of the franchise area, usually when the New Zealand cricket team is playing at Jade Stadium. They have played games at Trafalgar Park in Nelson and Alpine Energy Stadium in Timaru. In early 2006, there was talk that the Crusaders might play a game each year in the future in Melbourne, Australia after a large crowd turned up to watch the Crusaders play the Western Force in a 2006 pre-season game. The Nelson Bays rugby union was not happy about these rumours as they believed that the Crusaders should support their smaller unions. Canterbury Rugby CEO Hamish Riach later calmed these rumours saying that the side would only play pre-season matches in the future Melbourne.

1 2006 Super 14
2 Super 12 positions
3 Current squad
4 Most games for Crusaders
5 External links

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2006 Super 14

Template:Main In 2006, the Super 12 became the Super 14, with the Western Force joining from Perth, Australia, and the Central Cheetahs joining from the Free State and Northern Cape Provinces, South Africa. The Crusaders have picked off where they left off in the old Super 12. The team is currently in first position and remain the only Super 14 side undefeated after eight rounds.

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Super 12 positions

1996 ..	12th
1997 ..	6th
1998 ..	1st	.. (defeated Auckland Blues in final)
1999 ..	1st	.. (defeated Otago Highlanders in final)
2000 ..	1st	.. (defeated ACT Brumbies in final)
2001 ..	10th
2002 ..	1st	.. (defeated ACT Brumbies in final)
2003 ..	2nd	.. (lost final to Blues)
2004 ..	2nd	.. (lost final to ACT Brumbies)
2005 ..	1st	.. (defeated Waratahs in final)