Crusaders v Moana Pasifika: Veterans ready for final red-and-black challenge

Ryan Crotty faces a haka from Shirley Boys High School (his alma mater) to mark his 150th match for the Crusaders in 2019. Photo / Photosport

Departing Crusaders veteran Ryan Crotty – who made his debut for the side in 2009 – says he felt “pretty lucky” to have had “the best job in the world”.

On Friday, Crotty will take the field in front of his family to play his last home game for the Crusaders. Defeat against Moana Pasifika would mean it’s his final game ever for the side, and even with victory the struggling red and blacks will need results in other matches to go their way.

“[I have] a lot of skin in the game, a lot of love for this club, a lot of love for my mates, for the team. So for me, it’s probably about tempering that a wee bit and just focusing on my role, what I need to do for the team to, to help us get the result we need.”

Crotty acknowledged the poor run that has made the side an outside chance of a playoff spot.

“Obviously it hasn’t gone the way we probably would have liked, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’ve really loved it.”

The 2015 Rugby World Cup winner hasn’t made a final call on whether finishing at the Crusaders means full retirement from the top-flight game, but confirmed he’d be available for provincial and possibly club rugby.

“I’m not sure. I’m still loving it,” said Crotty. “I love the game, what the game’s given me.

“I’ll stay on and play some provincial rugby this year, and hopefully get a few run-ons for Brighton as well.

“Man, you think you’re going to be a rugby player forever and then it comes to now you don’t know how much longer it’s gonna last.”

Crusaders assistant coach Matt Todd saluted Crotty and veteran props Joe Moody and Owen Franks, saying the All Blacks “epitomise what it means to be a Crusader”.

“Their standards on and off the field have been top-notch their whole way through.

“They’re Crusader men and I’m sure the team will put on a performance that’s fitting for them.

He said Crotty was “a real ’rugby brain’. He understands the game, he understands what’s important to the team.

“Anytime people like that finish up, you want it to be special.”

Owen Franks, a Rugby World Cup winner in 2011 and 2015, starts on the bench.

“There’s no better professional in world rugby than Owen Franks,” said Todd. “The work he does, the way he’s still going at that age.”

After beating the top-of-the-table Blues last week, the Crusaders can still make a playoff run, but they’ll need other results to go their way. Even with victory over Moana Pasifika, a winning Crusaders side will be dependent on the Fijian Drua losing to the Rebels and the Force losing to the Brumbies if they are to sneak into eighth spot.

The Tana Umaga-coached Pacific Islanders face the same equation.

“All we’re worried about is what we can control and that’s Friday night,” said Todd. “So we’ll focus on that – and the other stuff, we’ll wait and see what happens.

“But we know we’ve got a massive challenge. Moana are in a similar spot to us.”