Super Rugby Kicks Off In 1996

December 1995 – The Crusaders are created and named, along with the four other New Zealand teams to contest the inaugural Super 12. The team is originally known as the Canterbury Crusaders, although the provincial affiliation is later dropped to satisfy the demands of the six smaller provinces involved within the franchise.

March 1996 – The Crusaders lose 26-27 to the Chiefs at Hamilton in their first ever Super 12 match. A week later, they are well beaten 18-49 by the Auckland Blues on their first appearance in Christchurch.

May 1996 – The first Super 12 ends with the Crusaders finishing last, having won just two of their 11 matches.

September 1996 – Former All Black and long serving Canterbury flyhalf Wayne Smith is unveiled as the new Crusaders coach, taking over from former All Black lock Vance Stewart. Former Canterbury and All Black fullback Robbie Deans is appointed as team manager.

May 1998 – A try by James Kerr three minutes from fulltime hands the Crusaders a remarkable 20-13 win over the Blues in the final, to claim their first title. The win is the Crusaders’ ninth in a row for the season, and represents the Blues’ first ever loss at Eden Park.

April 1999 – An Andrew Mehrtens dropped goal in injury time gives the Crusaders a vital 30-28 win over the Bulls at Pretoria. Had the Crusaders lost they would have been out of finals contention. Five weeks later they are crowned as Super 12 champions again after edging out the Highlanders 24-19 in an all South Island (New Zealand) final in Dunedin.

Crusaders Complete Undefeated Season

May 2000 – A penalty goal three minutes from time hands the Crusaders their third straight title after a 20-19 win over the ACT Brumbies in a pulsating final at Canberra. Crusaders skipper Todd Blackadder is announced as All Black captain for 2000 on the flight back to Christchurch after the match.

April 2002 – The Crusaders beat the Waratahs 96-19, scoring 14 tries, in a final round match between the teams who were ranked one and two on the point’s table. Crusaders rebrand and remove the pre-fix 'Canterbury' to better reflect the region the Club represents - the 'top of the South Island' and the six provincial unions of the club; Buller, Canterbury, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman & West Coast unions.

May 2002 – A convincing 31-13 win over the ACT Brumbies in the final enables the Crusaders to become the first side to win all 13 matches of a Super 12 season, on the way to claiming the team’s fourth title in five years. Reuben Thorne is named as All Black captain after the match.

May 2004 – After losing their opening two matches at home, the Crusaders recover to reach their sixth final. However they prove no match for the ACT Brumbies in Canberra, trailing 33-0 after just 19 minutes before they rally to eventually lose 38-47.

February 2005 – Richie McCaw is revealed as the new Crusaders skipper.

May 2005 – The Crusaders end the Super 12 era in style, beating the NSW Waratahs 35-25 in their seventh final appearance of the decade, to secure their fifth championship. As a reward, SANZAR decrees that the Crusaders can keep the Super 12 trophy, with a new one to be commissioned for Super 14.

Crusaders Win 7th Super Rugby Title

May 2006 – The first Super 14 title falls the same way as five previous Super 12 titles did, after the Crusaders overpower the Hurricanes 19-12 in surreal surroundings amid the thick fog that enveloped Jade Stadium.

May 2007 – The Crusaders, featuring an extremely youthful squad, are defeated 27-12 in the Semi Final by the Bulls at Pretoria. The Bulls would go on to claim the first Super rugby title for the republic.

May 2008 – The Crusaders win their seventh and final Super rugby title under Head Coach Robbie Deans by defeating the Waratahs 20-12 at AMI Stadium, Christchurch. Deans departed to join the Australian Rugby Union as Wallabies Head Coach.

February 2011 - AMI Stadium in Waltham is deem unsafe for Rugby following the February Earthquakes. The Crusaders play the entire season on the road to support the Christchurch community and make the final against the Reds

March 2011 - The Crusaders play their 3rd round match in Nelson in the West Coast Rugby Union jersey to commemorate the 29 mines who lost their lives in the Pike River mine tragedy in November 2010.

March 2012 - The new AMI Stadium (Addington) is opened on the 24 March 2012 with a sell out crowd watching the Crusaders play their frist home game since the earthquakes of 2010 / 2011. The stadium was built in a record 100 days and has a capacity of 18,000 seats.

August 2014 - Crusaders meet the Waratahs in the Super Rugby Final in Sydney after defeating the Sharks 38-6 in the Semi Final at AMI Stadium. The final was a thrilling match in front of 62,000 at ANZ Stadium. The Crusaders lost by one point in the dying moments 33-32.

August 2015 - The Crusaders farewell Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter - two players who have led the team over the past decade.

Crusaders Win 7 In A Row!

November 2015 - The new Rugby Park High Performance Centre is opened by Rt Hon. John Key, bringing the high performance and administration sides of the business together on one site at Rugby Park in Christchurch.

November 2016 - Scott 'Razor' Robertson is confirmed as Crusaders Head Coach. He was joined by Jason Ryan, Brad Mooar and Leon MacDonald. Sam Whitelock was named as Captain for the 2017 Season.

August 2017 - Lead by Sam Whitelock, the Crusaders beat the Lions 25-17 at Ellis Park in South Africa to win the Super Rugby Title for a record 8th time.

August 2018 - The Crusaders go back-to-back and win their 9th Super Rugby title at home in Christchurch defeating the Lions 38-17 in a reply of the 2017 final.

March 2019 - Christchurch is confronted with unspeakable tragedy when 51 people lose their lives at the hands of a lone gunman.

August 2019 - The Crusaders complete the three-peat beating the Jaguares at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch. 10 titles to the Crusaders in their 25th season of Super Rugby!

November 2019 - Crusaders introduce the clubs evolved brand story, idea and icon. The whakataukī, ‘mā pango, mā whero, ka oti te mahi’ which speaks to the concept of ‘with black and with red we will achieve’ has become an inspiring proverb for the Crusaders, because of its relevance to what we stand for. Our Tohu (symbol) is shaped by our natural landscape which stretches from the top of the Southern Alps to the depths of our moana. Taking the form of the letter ‘C’ but expressed in a way that is unique to us, it nods to our legacy while moving us forward. Brought together through the substance of our colours, mā pango (the colour of infinite potential) and mā whero (the colour of true leadership.)It is the combination of these rich ingredients that defines the Crusaders…

August 2020 - After the season is put on hold due to Covid-19, the Crusaders emerge from lockdown and win Super Rugby Aotearoa for the clubs 11th title and fourth in a row!

May 2021 - The Crusaders win their 5th title in a row with Captain Scott Barrett lifting Tū Kōtahi Aotearoa aloft after beating the Chiefs 24-13 at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch.

June 2022 - The Crusaders win their 6th title in a row in front of a sold out Eden Park, defeating the Blues 21-7

7th Heaven

June 2023- On Saturday the 24th of June 2023, The Crusaders captured their 7th consecutive title and 14th overall with a 20-25 win against the Chiefs at FMG Stadium, Waikato.

The Crusaders struggled twice against the Chiefs during the season, losing to them in pool play both home and away - along with much of the team being ravaged by injury throughout the 2023 season. However, despite setbacks and injury woes, the Crusading spirit of this champion side was enough to get the job done where it counts. The next man up mentality that has served the Crusaders so well shone through again and the boys got the job done.

The win capped off the Crusaders careers of Scott Robertson, Scott Hansen, Sam Whitelock, Richie Mo'unga and Leicester Fainga'anuku, with all 5 of those Crusader men moving onto other exciting opportunities around the world.