One of a large number of former Auckland players forced to look elsewhere for opportunities due to the long jam of established internationals who resided in the Queen City during the early years of professionalism, Steve Lancaster enjoyed the Christchurch and Crusaders environment so much that he’s kept coming back.Lancaster started in late 2006 as the Crusaders High Performance Leader, renewing an association with the franchise that spanned four seasons as a player, during which time he accumulated 26 appearances. Lancaster also played 44 games for Canterbury between 1996 and 2000. He then took up an off field role as the province’s Professional Player Development manager. From there, Lancaster was recruited to take on a role with a wider national brief at the New Zealand Rugby Union.