Tony Roche and Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson. Photo / Supplied
Tony Roche and Crusaders head coach Scott Robertson. Photo / Supplied
England born-and-raised rugby fan Tony Roche will do anything to watch the Crusaders play live - even if it means flying halfway around the world.
Set to endure a 57-hour round trip between the UK and New Zealand, all to sit in the stands of this weekend's Super Rugby finalagainst the Jaguares, Roche could easily be the Crusaders' biggest fan.
"It's probably quite a crazy thing to do to travel all the way to New Zealand for basically 80 minutes of rugby," Roche told the Herald ahead of his trip. "But I've become quite a big fan over the last 15 years."
Roche will depart Manchester on Wednesday evening before landing in Christchurch on Friday morning (NZT) after two stopovers in Dubai and Sydney - a round trip of more than 37,000km.
After a 28-hour 40-minute journey, Roche will only be based in Christchurch for 53 hours before departing back to the UK on Sunday night (NZT) to land back in time for work on Tuesday morning.
With no discernible Kiwi roots, it might seem an extraordinary sacrifice all for a rugby game but, surprisingly, it's not the first time Roche has gone to extreme lengths to see the Crusaders play.
The father of two has travelled overseas seven times all up to watch the Crusaders live, including a trip to Cape Town in 2011 when the Kiwi side played the Stormers.
"Earlier this year I was down in Sydney and saw them play against the Waratahs and against the Brumbies so this will be the third trip of the year," Roche said.
Tony Roche and former All Black Dan Carter. Photo / Supplied
"I've always said I'd go to one of the finals ... so as soon as I knew the schedule this year I reserved these days as leave, I was that confident that the Crusaders would go all the way to the final.
"They do mean a lot to me. We all have our passions in life, some are healthy and some are unhealthy and this isn't such a bad one."
Roche's love for the Cantabrian team started almost 15 years ago when he visited extended family in New Zealand while on honeymoon with his wife in 2005.
With the British and Irish Lions on tour at the time, they decided to head to Christchurch to watch the test match against the All Blacks.
Although it wasn't the result he wanted, as the British and Irish Lions suffered a 21-3 loss, Roche fell in love with the city and more importantly, the Crusaders.
"I love the Canterbury and wider region and the incredible way that they all pull together," Roche said. "The team has been through quite a lot of adversity in recent years with the earthquakes and what happened sadly earlier this year.
"I think they have just embodied the area and have become a kind of figurehead for the people of Christchurch, that's why I love the team."
Earlier today, key Crusaders and All Blacks Ryan Crotty and Scott Barrett were ruled out of Saturday's final with injury.
Richie Mo'unga of the Crusaders celebrates his try with team-mates. Photo / Getty
The news was extremely disappointing for both the men and the Crusaders, who are eyeing their third-straight Super Rugby title.
Roche, of course, was still confident of a Crusaders victory.
"It's going to be raining by the looks of it so I think it's going to be a really tough game," Roche said. "Everybody expects the Crusaders to win but the Jaguares have nothing to lose.
"It's going to be a hell of a bust-up and if the weather is bad, it's going to be quite a battle.
"But we'll win the game, the Crusaders are going to come out on top."
The Super Rugby grand final will kick off on Saturday at 7:35pm.
