Statue of Crusaders legends would be ‘stunning’

Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders
Photo: PHOTOSPORT

A statue immortalising club legends Sam Whitelock and Richie Mo’unga is not out of the question, Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge says.

The Crusaders won their fifth straight Super Rugby title, beating the Chiefs 25-20 in Hamilton on Saturday.

It marks 12 Super Rugby titles in all for the Crusaders, and was a fitting way for future All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, as well as players Whitelock and Mo’unga, to wrap up their time with the team.

Christchurch’s new stadium Te Kaha is due to be completed in 2026 and could be the ideal opportunity to erect a permanent tribute to Robertson and the outgoing veterans.

“Razor [Scott Robertson] has definitely doing some lobbying, he wants Te Kaha to be every bit as good as the best stadia in the world and I think it will be.

“We’ve got our own legends hall of fame in the Crusaders club, launched this year but we are talking to Te Kaha about how could we ramp up the surrounds in the precinct when it opens in a couple of years time,” Mansbridge said.

In 2011 a bronze sculpture of former All Black Michael Jones diving across the try line at the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup was unveiled at Eden Park.

Mansbridge told Morning Report a statue of Whitelock reaching for ball in line-out “would be stunning”.

Mansbridge said there were some poignant moments in the shed after the win as Whitelock and Mo’unga reflected on their contributions to the club.

Photo: Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

Both players are heading overseas to play next year.

“They’ve left us some ways of behaving and conducting themselves on and off the field. And hopefully the younger players that have been around them and been able to see that and can live that way as well into the future, that’s the plan.”

Mansbridge said the Crusaders spend a lot of time building leaders on and off the field.

“And they sort of role model behaviour and then everybody else sees how they are expected to behave and hopefully that gets passed down and down.

“Watching Sam Whitelock prepare over the last week …the way he conducted himself, his mental preparation, his physical preparation, there’s plenty of role modelling that went on this week and you can’t buy that stuff, you’ve got to do it through experience.”

The Super Rugby Pacific final was not without controversy, after a couple of contentious decisions hurt the Chiefs.

“Winning championships you have to win the moments and that’s every single part of the game … [including] how you handle the decisions that you feel have gone against you and how you respond to those situations,” Mansbridge said.

“I’ve seen a couple of the Hamilton based journalists write some critical analysis of it afterwards and they’ve actually been fairly balanced and say that on balance they think the ref has got most things right.”

Rob Penney will replace Roberston as coach of the Crusaders.

“They’re pretty connected, there will be a bit of handover goes on and we’re already planning to make sure that we go to another level the next time around.”