Celtic Crusaders
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| Celtic Crusaders | |||
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| Full name | Celtic Crusaders Rugby League Club | ||
| Founded | 2005 | ||
| Location | Bridgend, Wales | ||
| Ground(s) | Brewery Field, Bridgend | ||
| Capacity | 12500 | ||
| Coach |  John Dixon |
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| League | National League 1 | ||
| 2007 | National League 2, 1st (Promoted to NL1) | ||
| Official website | |||
| www.crusadersrfl.com | |||
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The Celtic Crusaders are a rugby league club based in Bridgend, Wales, United Kingdom. They joined National League Two in 2006, and were promoted to National League One at the end of the 2007 season. Home games are played at the Brewery Field in Bridgend, although some games have been played in other parts of South Wales. They are coached by John Dixon.
Much of the squad are Welsh-qualified having been recruited from the Welsh Conference sides, mainly Bridgend Blue Bulls and Aberavon Fighting Irish. They also run an academy side drawn from every club in the Welsh Conference. The academy side are under the name Crusader Colts and currently play their games in the Rugby league Conference and played there first match against Dewsbury Celtic convincingly winning 66-12.
The Crusaders are attracting fans of the now defunct rugby union team Celtic Warriors,[citation needed] who participated in the Celtic League during the 2003-2004 season, before they were disbanded by the WRU.
Their highest ever attendance in National league 2 was on Friday May 4, 2007 when 3,441 people witnessed them play Oldham Roughyeds at the Brewery Field. Some of the crowd consisted of engage Super League fans who had travelled to South Wales for the Millennium Magic weekend in Cardiff but the majority were locals thanks to a marketing campaign by the club.[citation needed] This attendance was also an NL2 record attendance and the first NL2 match broadcast live on British television. In 2008, a crowd of 6,152 attended the game against Featherstone Rovers on Friday May 3, again on the weekend of Millennium Magic.[1]
In only their second season of existence, the Celtic Crusaders won the 2007 National League Two championship, thus earning automatic promotion to National League One in 2008. The title was sealed with one match left to play as a result of Featherstone Rovers away loss at Barrow Raiders on September 8, 2007.[2]
In 2008 Celtic Crusaders signalled their ambition for Super League rugby and were one of 19 clubs to submit an application for a Super League franchise. Many pundits fancy Celtic Crusaders to have their application accepted to expand the game across to Wales and not limit rugby league to the heartlands (Lancashire and Yorkshire).
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[edit] Symbols
The Badge - The badge depicts the Cross of St David with the Crusaders logo emblazed thereon. The club colours are black and gold and the change strip blue and white. The Motto - The motto comes from Lucius Accius a Roman tragic Poet. ‘Oderint dum metuant’ - ‘Let them hate, so long as they fear’ later became a famous motto of the Emperor Caligula.
[edit] History
The initial plan to re-use the 'Celtic Warriors' name was abandoned in favour of 'Celtic Crusaders' which had been considered by the rugby union franchise. They were to play their home games at Brewery Field and games were planned to be held at Sardis Road as well.
The Crusaders' aim was to reach Super League and to represent South Wales. Previous attempts to create rugby league franchises in non-traditional areas have met with mixed success. Gateshead Thunder and Paris Saint Germain were given automatic entry to the Super League, Paris survived only two seasons and Gateshead were forcibly merged and reincarnated as a national league two side. The philosophy behind the creation of the Crusaders was a bottom up approach to ensure that the club grew with its playing and spectator base, into a nationally recognised sporting brand. The Crusaders' first match took place against Harlequins Academy at Brewery Field. The Crusaders used the fixture as a chance to view the fringe players in their squad and secured a 22-22 draw. Their first competitive games were in the National League Cup; Crusaders were placed in a group along with London Skolars, Hemel Stags and St Albans Centurions. Crusaders won every game convincingly and were installed as favourites to win National League Two in their first year. However, the team finished a creditable third and lost out 26-27 in the Final Eliminator to Swinton Lions. They played against Brisbane Broncos in the Bulmers Original Cider Challenge at the Brewery Field on Thursday February 15, 2007, losing with a respectable scoreline of 6-32.
In only their second season of existence, the Celtic Crusaders won the 2007 National League Two championship, thus earning automatic promotion to National League One in 2008. The title was sealed with one match left to play as a result of Featherstone Rovers away loss at Barrow Raiders on September 8, 2007.[3] In that year fullback Tony Duggan won the National League Two Player of the Year award for 2007 with 40 tries through 2007.Jace Van Dijk, Neale Wyatt, Damien Quinn, Mark Dalle Cort, Neil Budworth, all joined Duggan in the National League Two all-star team.[4]
In their first ever Co-operative National League One match, Celtic Crusaders, in atrocious conditions, claimed a hard-fought 14-12 win over Dewsbury Rams.[5]
[edit] 2008 Squad
| No | Nat | Player | Position | Previous Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Tony Duggan | Full Back | Toowoomba Clydesdales |
| 2 |  |
Mark Lennon | Wing | Hull Kingston Rovers |
| 3 | |
Luke Dyer | Centre | Hull Kingston Rovers |
| 4 | |
Mark Dalle Cort | Centre | North Queensland Cowboys |
| 5 |  |
Paul Ballard | Wing | Leigh Centurions |
| 6 | |
Damien Quinn | Stand-off | Toowoomba Clydesdales |
| 7 | |
Jace Van Dijk(C) | Scrum Half | Wynnum Seagulls |
| 8 | |
Jamie I'Anson | Prop | Leeds Rhinos |
| 9 | |
Neil Budworth | Hooker | Harlequins RL |
| 10 | |
Jordan James | Prop | Widnes Vikings |
| 11 | |
Terry Martin | Second Row | Canberra Raiders |
| 12 | |
Darren Mapp | Second Row | Cronulla Sharks |
| 13 | |
Geraint Davies | Loose Forward | Aberavon Fighting Irish |
| 14 |  |
David Tangata-Toa | Prop | Hull Kingston Rovers |
| 15 | |
Neale Wyatt | Second Row | Pia Donkeys |
| 16 | |
Josh Hannay | Utility | Cronulla Sharks |
| 17 | |
Chris Vitalini | Centre | Newport Titans |
| 18 | |
Gareth Dean | Prop | AS Carcassonne |
| 19 | |
Chris Beasley | Second Row | St Gaudens |
| 20 | |
Ian Webster | Scrum Half | Halifax |
| 21 | |
Anthony Blackwood | Full Bacl | Halifax RLFC |
| 22 | |
Tom Burnell | Hooker | Cardiff Demons |
| 24 | |
Owen Lewis | Stand-off | Valley Cougars |
| 25 | |
Ben Flower | Second Row | Bedwas |
| 26 | |
Lee Williams | Centre | Aberavon Fighting Irish |
| 27 |  |
Philippe Gardent | Prop | Carolina Panthers-American Football |
[edit] Crusaders Colts
In 2007 Celtic Crusaders setup a feeder side called the Crusaders Colts with the prime objective of producing young Welsh players to play for both Celtic Crusaders and the Welsh national side. The squad is made up of the best young players in Wales and they will play their fixtures in the Co-operative Conference National, a league which is two divisions below National League One, where Celtic Crusaders are competing this year, and a division above the Welsh Conference Premier.
The majority of the Colts’ first ever side are taken from the Welsh Conference Premier but there are a few new faces to rugby league including Josh Hannam (don’t get him confused with a certain first team player) who comes to the club after an impressive record with both Glamorgan Wanderers and Newport Gwent Dragons under 20 and Lewis Mills, who has previously only played university rugby for Glamorgan. [6]
The Crusaders Colts played there first game against Dewsbury Celtic winning comfortably 66-12. [7]
[edit] Statistics
[edit] National League Two
| Season | Pos | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-06 | 3rd | 22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 29 |
[edit] National League Two
| Season | Pos | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-07 | 1st | 22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 60 |
[edit] Records
Biggest win (margin): 82-4 vs Swinton Lions (Brewery Field, 28 April 2007)
Most Points Scored: 84-10 vs Hunslet Hawks (Brewery Field, 11 August 2007)
Biggest defeat: 56-6 vs Widnes Vikings (Brewery Field, 9th February 2007)
Highest Attendance: 6,152 vs Featherstone Rovers (3rd May 2008)
[edit] Honours
National League Two Champions 2007
[edit] See also
- Celtic Warriors
- Wales national rugby league team
- Rugby League in Wales
- Rugby League Conference
- Rugby League National Leagues
[edit] References
- ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Crusaders 28-18 Featherstone
- ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Gateshead 16-60 Celtic Crusaders
- ^ BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Gateshead 16-60 Celtic Crusaders
- ^ CrusadersRFL.com - NL2 Player of the Year. The winner is
- ^ CrusadersRFL.com - March 21st - Dewsbury Rams (h)
- ^ CrusadersRFL.com - Crusaders Colts match off
- ^ CrusadersRFL.com - Sat 5 April - Dewsbury Celtic (a)
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_League_National_Leagues_in_2006
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_League_National_Leagues_in_2007
[edit] External links
- Celtic Crusaders announcement
- Celtic Crusaders official website
- Website containing information about past League clubs
- Official Wales Rugby League website
- Official Wales Rugby League photographer's website
- Celtic Crusaders on youtube
- Celtic Crusaders forum on rlfans.com
- National League website
- Celtic Crusaders Fans Forums - RugbyLeague.org
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