Kevin Nepia had played 41 matches for Auckland prior to his decision to move south in 1997, but the big former Auckland Marist prop quickly became a favourite with the Lancaster Park faithful. The dependable front ranker, whose career in the north had largely been stymied by the presence of All Black regulars Craig Dowd and Olo Brown, soon had established himself as the foundation stone of an improving Crusaders scrum, missing just two matches during his two seasons with the side. Appropriately, his last match as a Crusader saw him to return triumphant to his former home ground as the Crusaders beat the Blues 20-13 in the 1998 Super 12 final. Nepia also offered similar value toCanterbury after hooking up with the Marist Albion club, featuring in all 11 of the matches that were played by the side en-route to the 1997 NPC title.