How the 1998 Crusaders laid the foundation for a Super Rugby dynasty

PETER MEECHAM / STUFF

] Todd Blackadder raises the Super Rugby Trophy in 1998. [19659018] "But, over time, maybe that was a starting point for what has happened since then."

Not just for the Crusaders, but for New Zealand and the world Wayne Smith – aka The Professor – was the head coach of the Crusaders in 1998. Steve Tew, managing director of New Zealand Rugby and member of the World Rugby board, was Canterbury and (by extension) the CEO of Crusaders.

Robbie Deans was the team leader and Steve Hansen was in the background as part of the group. Canterbury NPC coaches.

Bert Enoka, mentor of mental skills – who has since been an integral part of the last two winning campaigns of the All Blacks World Cup.

All had their great holidays in these heady debuts where the sleeping giant of New Zealand rugby

BASEMENT OF PENTHOUSE

Crusaders can to be hot favorites for this year's Super Rugby crown, but that was not necessarily the case in 1998.

The Canterbury franchise had finished dead last in the first Super 12s In 1996, Todd Blackadder recalled that the crowds were so poor that players could easily spot their families in the empty stands of Lancaster Park.

Wayne Smith – the former All Black – entered as a Crusader coach in 1997 and the team finished in sixth place – in the middle of the table – while the Blues won a second consecutive title

But the wave was about to turn

The first wave erupted in 1997 when Canterbury – coached by Robbie Deans – won their first NPC championship in 14 years.

Smith, who had Peter Sloane as assistant coach, named Deans as Crusader director, and the management group began to get players to connect with their communities across the South South.

Smith and Deans were part of Canterbury's last great winning team – Grizz Wyllie's Ranfurly Shield heroes of the 1980s – and were able to capitalize on that goodwill and rally the public around their team.

In flank Todd Blackadder, they had a down-to-earth leader, highly respected throughout the Crusader Basin after his campaign days at Collingwood, near Farewell Spit

Stu Loe, a veteran, was driving near 100 km to the training, always covered with dust. "Understanding who we represented was an essential part of the coaching and management team's strategy," Gardiner recalls.

"We spent a lot of time on the bus [in 1997] visiting Nelson and Buller and playing pre-season games on the west coast, stopping at places like Maruia School. Springs for tea. "

In 1998, the roadshow was heading towards Ashburton and Timaru." Gardiner said, "There was a great push for everyone to understand who you represented, that the Crusaders were a regional team and of course he had its base in Christchurch and a good core of the team was local, but the pre-season was a D in 1998, men like Robertson and Norm Maxwell – recruits from the North Island at the beginning of the Super 12 – have been well and truly adopted by the South.

"We started to understand the value that guys like that brought to the team," said Gardiner. ahead of time by providing different psychological and motivational components. His slogans included Kaizen – a Japanese term vaguely meaning small but continuous improvement. It became the buzzword for the Crusaders' campaign '98

. The team was pretty tight at the time the series started, but Gardiner remembers "we have not started very well", losing three of their first points. four games – the last home defeat against the Blues (31-24).

"Someone has a picture of the table … and the Crusaders died last," he says.

The rest of the season became a series of Cup Finals for the Crusaders, who also had to deal with an Achilles tendon injury that ends in Justin Marshall.

THE TURNAROUND

Robertson says that a "session of honesty" was demonstrated

"I remember Smithy saying," we looked really well in as a management group and that we can be better, "and we said, as a gaming group," we can also be better Wayne

"Wayne threw out all his workout and detail plans and basically said, "How are you, yes boys, you tell me, I'm ready to work as hard as possible." Let's do this together. "

The quest from the bottom of the newspaper to the Super Rugby champions became the "Holy Grail" of the Crusaders "

" Every turn we had to win – that was the knockout right away .The finals mentality … Basically, we said "We're going to play as if it was our last game for the Crusaders." 19659007 "" Very cliche, my is it worked, is not it Gus? "says Robertson.

The Crusaders had to dig deep into their reserves, they did not have far to look for a halfback Aaron (Oggy) Flynn was masterfully advanced to replace Marshall, as he had done for another All Black, Graeme. Bachop, when Canterbury rescued the Ranfurly Shield against Otago in 1994.

Norm Berryman, Northland's charismatic wing who wore the shadows of Blues Brothers, turned out to be a cult hero with his feats of markers. Elton Moncrieff of Wellington (halfback) Ace Tiatia (hooker), and the top five Blair Feeney counties were also among the conscripts.

The Crusaders' campaign gained momentum after their defeat in the fourth round against the Blues

. They have won their next seven games, often by thin margins, last chance trials or the incessant boot of Andrew Mehrtens. "Some resilience allowed us to get there, probably against all odds," Gardiner said.

But they still had to go to Durban – a ruthless place – and beat the Coastal Sharks to win a semifinal at home.

CONQUERS & # 39; NORMANS & # 39;

If the Crusaders needed inspiration, it was Norm Maxwell who provided it. The young lock had been hit by a virus in South Africa. In the throes of vomiting and diarrhea, Maxwell lost a lot of weight that he could not afford to lose. He was put on a drip to bring him liquids, but he took his place at King's Park despite an injury to the shoulder.

His Northland friend Berryman played in the Super Rugby final at Ellis. Park – among the greatest victories on the Crusaders' Road. Hooker Mark Hammett and Metronomic Mehrtens also crossed the chalk to secure second place on the paper and send the Sharks on a long flight to Christchurch.

"This game was quite definitive in the history of the Crusaders," says Robertson. "Win at home, win a semifinal and then start again – it was the effect of the Normans, both. [those displays] showed all the different characters who stood up in the History of the Crusaders. " [19659007] About 38,000 fans flocked to old Lancaster Park for the semifinal. Robertson remembers watching "packed embankment" and heard "deafening roar when Normie [Berryman] ran on the sideline to score that second try and take us into the final." The Crusaders celebrated a 36-32 victory after two attempts to line up the Shark Kings, Ollie Redhead, against the Mauls of Alignment

UPSET AT EDEN

As if that had been written, the grand finale of the Crusaders. the opponents were the Blues, who had to fight to beat the Highlanders.

Graham Henry lost the three big stars of the 1996-1997 title teams – Sean Fitzpatrick, Zinzan Brooke and Jonah Lomu. But he could still line up 14 All Blacks (the young hooker James Christian was the odd man) and had skipper Michael Jones, Carlos Spencer, Robin Brooke, Olo Brown and Craig Dowd with ex-All Black Andrew Blowers on the bench.

The Blues, with the advantage of the house, were still favorites, but the Crusaders had that momentum.

Gardiner also remembers that they came into the game with some degree of self-confidence

"Back in '97, we They were narrowly beaten by the Blues at Pukekohe, but we pushed them very hard … We left feeling cut short

"Many of [the 98 Crusaders team] had played the 97 NPC of Canterbury where we turned a corner against Auckland by beating them twice at home, in a real pressure situation, once in the round robin and then in the semifinals.

"It was a lot of the same faces, just in a slightly different jersey, obviously the stakes were a little higher.

" Some of our guys did not wear the scars of previous years against the Blue "

"This was very important for the success of the team, in the end.

Robertson and Gardiner were section men in 98, sharing playing time. "

" I left the bench [in the final] I remember that one, "joked Gardiner

" We took turns, "Robertson reminded him

. crowd "at Eden Park and nervous anticipation." It was our holy grail, "said Robertson." Reaching a point at the end of the season where we were able to control our destiny was extremely exciting "

Again, the Crusaders had to face setbacks … Berryman, playing with a bandaged right thigh, hobbled early.

But the Crusaders showed the kind of spirit that pushed Coach Smith said, "You can not crush people with a heart that still beats in them." 19659007] The first half-hour was cat and mouse, Mehrtens penalty in the 31st minute was the only score of the first spell.

Tension built into a second stark stanza.

Lee Stensness opened the Crusaders' defense with a mad rush to send hooker James Christian rushing for the first time.

Adrian Cashmore got a goal of 40m for an advantage this was 10-3, but the Crusaders fought back with two big tackles from James Kerr and Mark Mayerholfer, who crushed Carlos Spencer, producing a revealing business figure. Norm Maxwell picked up the ball and sprinted to score. 10 to 10.

Cashmore and Mehrtens exchanged penalties to keep him locked at 13 pieces

Then Crusaders found extra equipment. Ofisa Ton & # 39; u failed to find the touch of his box kick. Number eight Steve Surridge – a drafted Aucklander – made a comeback in the middle to set up a fastball for Flynn

Mehrtens made a left kick in the goal area of ​​the Blues. Kerr, a laid-back surfer from Gisborne (now a school teacher near Mount Maunganui), has put Tonu's u under all sorts of pressures. The ball escaped the Blues halfback. Kerr, as he anticipated a surging wave, plunged into the rapture of winning the win-win test before being hugged by the great pillar Stu Loe.

Mehrtens added the frosting with his conversion on the sideline for a 19-13 victory All Black Buck Anderson, commenting on TV, said the Blues looked "shocked" with their heads down ".

"They must be wondering," is what Auckland normally does to the teams, "and suddenly, that is"

Blackadder raised his arms tired while Paddy O & R Brien was giving a full-time whistle.

Mehrtens expressed pleasure and relief in the ranks. "Very lucky, very privileged … I'm just glad it's over … C & # 39; is a wonderful result. "

& quot; TALISMAN & quot;

Blackadder then raised the trophy and paid tribute to all the Crusaders constituent provinces – Nelson Bays, Marlborough, West Coast, Buller, Mid Canterbury, Canterbury South and Canterbury.

Gardiner is quick to demystify the rumor that she provided Blackadder with the scenario. "It's mythical – it was always the Toddy's own game, he just said, "What do you think about it?"

"He was the talisman … he represented all these ideas. t beliefs at that time. He was the good man to lead us and the good man to make this speech … "

Thousands of Crusader fans filled the Christchurch airport for the return of their heroes and the crowds were three in Colombo Street for the mid-week parade.

They were back a year later when the Crusaders defended the title in the 1999 derby against the Highlanders at Carisbrook – and after the three peat bogs in Canberra in 2000

Six of the 98 Crusaders were still there For the title triumph of 2002. At that time, Robertson reluctantly yielded shirt number 7 to a promising boy named Richie McCaw.

Reuben Thorne was still a member of the team in 2008 for his and the seventh medal of the crusaders 19659007] Gardiner and Robertson can not believe that 20 years have passed, though "knees are doing."

They joked 98 meeting e team "A chance to" get everyone together and reconnect, and tell how good we were "

" These memories never leave you, "said Gardiner. "It's almost like putting a break on a videotape and leaving it on the machine … the body shapes may have changed a bit, some of us have a little less hair, but personalities and people will always be the same Robertson says the Crusaders pioneers have definitely left a legacy

"Everything is the same with respect to the values ​​and people you recruit."

"The same Conversations One is having, the same stories are being transmitted, the same people are connected – the former coaches still love to go down and watch. "

And one thing has not changed in 20 years – there is still a Blackadder in

Ethan Blackadder was three years old when his father raised the 1998 Super 12 trophy. young flanker won the Crusaders' year rookie award

The more things change, the more they stay the same on the Christchurch Super Rugby production line.

– Stu ff