"Conference, a South Wales team was mooted to join a professional league in March 2005, as the National League Two division was due to be restructured and expanded for the 2006 season. The demise of the Celtic Warriors team and backing by businessman Leighton Samuel gave an opportunity for a team to be based in Bridgend, however Coventry Bears and Bramley Buffaloes, who reached the National League Three Grand Final, also wanted a place in National League Two. The initial plan to re-use the 'Celtic Warriors' name was abandoned in favour of 'Celtic Crusaders' which had been considered by the"
"The Crusaders Rugby League Supporters Club was formed in 2010 to provide a link between the club and fans, and replaced the old Celtic Crusaders Supporters Club that had branches in Cardiff, Newport, West Wales and Manchester amongst others. The club has also had various groups of supporters form their own rugby league teams such as the Celtic Crusaders Vagabonds who played in the Isle of Man and the Celtic Barbarians based in Wrexham. The club has several notable fans like Welsh rugby union international Gavin Henson, TNA wrestler Rob Terry, Plaid Cymru politician Janet Ryder and Carwyn Jones, the"
"on 21 December 2017:"" Gains Losses Updated 11 June 2015. North Wales Crusaders The North Wales Crusaders () is a professional rugby league club based in Wrexham, Wales. They are the successors to the former Super League club Crusaders Rugby League. Crusaders compete in Betfred League 1, the third tier of European rugby league (behind the European Super League and Betfred Championship). Until the end of 2016 they played their home games at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. From 2017 they are based at the Queensway Stadium (also in Wrexham) but will also play several games at Hare Lane in"
"their remaining home matches at Stebonheath Park. From 2018 they are known as West Wales Raiders, the name of the club based at Stebonheath. Many professional and semi-professional Welsh teams have played rugby league in the otherwise English competitions since the formation of the Northern Union in 1895. The latest attempt to expand the game to South Wales began when the Crusaders joined the National League Two in 2006. The club was initially based in Bridgend. The idea of a second professional side in Wales was discussed before the Celtic Crusaders had even played a game. The Crusaders' plan was"
"team, Celtic Crusaders, but this time they were up against Featherstone Rovers at the Brewery Field, Bridgend in a National League 1 match. The Crusaders won the match by 28 point to 18. The match was held in front of a club record crowd of 6,152. It was confirmed after the 2008 event that the weekend was to be moved in 2009 to Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland. The event included matches based on a seeded draw, using finishing positions from Super League XIII. The 2010 Magic weekend took place on 1–2 May 2010 at Murrayfield. After fan criticism of"
"Carlow Crusaders The Carlow Crusaders were a rugby league team based in Carlow, Ireland. They played in the Irish Elite League. They played home games at Oak Park, Carlow. The Crusaders were forced to play most of their games in Cill Dara RFC, Kildare as Oak Park is owned & used by Carlow RFC. The Carlow Crusaders were embroiled in controversy when they opted to pull out of the 2011 All Ireland Final against the Treaty City Titans. They have yet to explain publicly their reasons for the action but has since been found guilty of bringing the game into"
"North Wales Crusaders The North Wales Crusaders () is a professional rugby league club based in Wrexham, Wales. They are the successors to the former Super League club Crusaders Rugby League. Crusaders compete in Betfred League 1, the third tier of European rugby league (behind the European Super League and Betfred Championship). Until the end of 2016 they played their home games at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham. From 2017 they are based at the Queensway Stadium (also in Wrexham) but will also play several games at Hare Lane in Chester. In the summer of 2003, the WRU voted to"
"was granted by the Rugby Football League on 22 July 2008. The decision elevated the club from National League One to compete in Super League XIV from 2009. For the 2010 Super League season, Crusaders initially announced they would play at Newport's Rodney Parade ground for two seasons. However, in the run up to the new season the Celtic Crusaders franchise was sold by owner Leighton Samuel to Wrexham Football Club parent company, Wrexham Village Ltd and the side moved to Wrexham, playing home fixtures at The Racecourse Ground. Bridgend's second rugby league side is the Bridgend Blue Bulls, one"
"Crusaders (rugby union) The Crusaders (formerly the Canterbury Crusaders and officially the BNZ Crusaders due to sponsorship by the Bank of New Zealand) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Christchurch, who compete in the Super Rugby competition. They have won 9 titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2017 and 2018). Formed in 1996 to represent the upper South Island of New Zealand in the Super 12, the Crusaders represent the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast provincial Rugby Unions. Their main home ground is AMI Stadium, formerly known as Jade Stadium"
"consortium. The new owners came under pressure from the Welsh FA who wanted Ninian Park as their permanent headquarters and were opposed to ground sharing with rugby league. As a result, the Blue Dragons changed their name to Bridgend Blue Dragons and relocated the club to Bridgend Town A.F.C.'s Coychurch Road ground. They were wound up in 1986 as they failed to secure a ground for the forthcoming season. Following their inaugural Super League season in 2009, the Celtic Crusaders, based in the South Wales town of Bridgend since their formation in 2005, moved to the North Wales town of"
"Crusaders moved to Rugby League Park in Addington, renamed Christchurch AMI STADIUM to be used as their home ground for the foreseable future. The ground has been rebuilt to 18,600pax. Despite AMI claiming massive expenses, they still were able to buy naming rights to Crusaders temporary stadium. It has been known as AMI Stadium ever since the Crusaders started playing there. The stadium was home to the Canterbury team in the ITM Cup (formerly the National Provincial Championship, or NPC and Air New Zealand Cup), who have been very successful in this competition, winning the SIX most recent competitions (2008–2013)."
"The team went on to win the Super Rugby competition against the to win their 8th title. In 2018, the Crusaders again played the Lions in the final, but this time at home and winning their 9th title. They won 37-18. The Crusaders' name was chosen to reflect the crusading nature of Canterbury rugby. A potential name was also the ""Plainsmen""; however, this was not chosen, as ""Crusaders"" recalled the English heritage of the city of Christchurch. Christchurch was established by English emigrants in the 19th century and is often described as the most English city outside England. The club"
"disrepute by an independent panel. This decision has left many wondering if Carlow will take part in any further rugby league competitions. They are currently in the process of appealing the charge. Carlow Crusaders The Carlow Crusaders were a rugby league team based in Carlow, Ireland. They played in the Irish Elite League. They played home games at Oak Park, Carlow. The Crusaders were forced to play most of their games in Cill Dara RFC, Kildare as Oak Park is owned & used by Carlow RFC. The Carlow Crusaders were embroiled in controversy when they opted to pull out of"
"playing there during the 2011 Super Rugby season due to damage inflicted by the February Christchurch earthquake. The Crusaders usually took one game each year to another part of the franchise area, most often when the New Zealand cricket team was playing at AMI Stadium. Previous venues included Trafalgar Park in Nelson, and Alpine Energy Stadium in Timaru. With AMI Stadium still out of commission, the Crusaders adopted Rugby League Park (which has been renamed Christchurch Stadium temporarily) in Addington as their home ground for that and future seasons to recentralise their games in one location as opposed to the"
"last ever time the team played at Brewery Field on 5 September 2009. The Racecourse Ground is located in Wrexham in North Wales and is the official home of the Crusaders and where most matches are played. The club moved to the ground in 2010, in time for the start of the Super League XV season. The first Crusaders match ever played there was against Leeds Rhinos on 29 January 2010, and that match is also the highest attendance for a Crusaders match played in Wrexham. With a capacity of 15,500 it is the largest ground in North Wales, the"
"East Cumbria Crusaders East Cumbria Crusaders is a rugby league club based in Carlisle, Cumbria. They play in the North East Division of the Rugby League Conference. Their home ground is Creighton RUFC. Carlisle Border Raiders RLFC were a semi-professional club that existed between 1981 and 1997. The club were founded in 2003 as Carlisle Centurions by former international Bev Risman and joined the North West Division of the Rugby League Conference which it won. The Centurions went on to reach the Grand Final of the Harry Jepson Trophy in 2003 when they were narrowly beaten at Wilderspool Stadium by"
"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 Rugby Football League admitted the Celtic Crusaders club; now with badge, ground, website and shareholders; on 22 June 2005 during a meeting in Salford. On 3 July, Super League teams London Broncos and Hull FC fought out a 24-all draw at the Brewery Field, drumming up 3775 fans to watch the game as part of London's on the road home games whilst their ground was being redeveloped. The rest of 2005 was spent preparing"
"over Cliftonville at Windsor Park on 9 May 2009. The same season, Crusaders began a partnership with fellow North Belfast club Newington in a cross-community initiative, which saw Newington play their home matches at Seaview. This became their permanent venue for home matches in 2011. As a result, Crusaders entered Europe for the first time in 12 years and faced Macedonian side FK Rabotnicki in the Europa League second qualifying round. The game was drawn 1–1 with David Rainey scoring on the 89th minute. On 23 July 2009 in their second leg encounter with FK Rabotnicki in Macedonia they lost"
"adopted Canterbury's traditional sporting colours of red and black, as worn by Canterbury. The Crusaders' franchise area consists of the regions controlled by the Buller, Canterbury, Mid-Canterbury, South Canterbury, Tasman and West Coast rugby unions. Before 2006, when the NPC was reorganised, Canterbury was the only union playing division one (now Mitre 10 Cup) within the Crusaders' catchment. As a result, the majority of Crusaders players were also listed with Canterbury. Today, the Crusaders' catchment contains two Mitre 10 Cup sides – Canterbury and Tasman. The Crusaders' main home ground was the 36,000-capacity AMI Stadium in Christchurch. However, they stopped"
"Bulls played Valley Cougars. The game attracted a crowd of around 1,500. The two sides would face each other again in 2010. Celtic Crusaders took on Keighley Cougars in 2006, winning 58-18. The game had been moved from Brewery Field because of a Bryan Adams concert two days before. Throughout 2009, Celtic Crusaders reserves played 12 games, their under-18s played four times and the under-16s once. On 8 November 2009 Italy beat Serbia 42-14 and Lebanon beat Ireland 40-16 in a European Cup ranking double header event. Professional rugby league returned to the Bridgend county borough as South Wales Scorpions"
"the ground beyond the 2005 season and are now based at Pyle RFC. Crusaders played their first four seasons of their existence at the ground, to which they had ownership of, between 2006 and 2009. The team played in the lower leagues of professional rugby league during their first few years, before they were given a franchise to operate in the European Super League, the elite rugby league competition in Europe, from 2009 to 2011. They played their first Super League home game at the stadium on 21 February 2009 against Hull F.C. The Crusaders won their first Super League"
"four stands: The Mold Road Stand, the Eric Roberts Stand, the Kop and the Yale. During pre-season of the 2012 campaign. North Wales Crusaders played 'Home' games at both Halton Stadium (Widnes) and Eirias Stadium (Colwyn Bay). Whilst resurfacing work was taking place at the Racecourse Ground in 2014, North Wales Crusaders took their home games to 'the Rock' in Rhosymedre, near Ruabon. As of the 2017 season, the club is based at the Queensway Stadium in Wrexham. It consists of two small all-seater stands on one side overlooking a rugby pitch and a running track with floodlights. ""* Announced"
"be attending matches throughout the year. The club also announced that they were moving their training ground to the RAF's St Athan base, beating off competition from Cardiff City who also wanted to use the facilities; and that Frenchman Thibault Giroud had been appointed as new fitness coach. Like last year, Celtic Crusaders' first match of the new season was a Northern Rail Cup game. This year they were drawn in a group with two strong National League One clubs, Widnes and Leigh, and with London Skolars. Widnes came to a snow-hit Brewery Field on 9 February and won 6–56."
"the Crusaders acquired the head coaching services of former Sydney Kings player and coach, Ian Robilliard. Central Coast Crusaders The Central Coast Crusaders are an Australian basketball team based in Terrigal, New South Wales. The Crusaders compete in the Men's Waratah League and play their home games at Scholastic Sports Stadium. The team is affiliated with Gosford City Basketball & Sports Stadium (GCBSS), the major administrative basketball organisation in the region. Prior to 2006, a club known as Central Coast Power hosted both a men's and women's team in the Waratah League. For the 2006 season, the Power departed and"
"same in the 2008 preseason as well, also against the Force. Due to the 2011 earthquake, the Crusaders played four games at Trafalgar Park, and two in Timaru during their 2011 season. They also played a ""home"" game in Wellington in Round 18 against Hurricanes, and a special home match against the Sharks at Twickenham in London. The London match was a fundraiser for earthquake relief, and was the first Super Rugby match ever contested outside of the three participating countries. In the first 30 hours of ticket sales, over 30,000 were purchased; a spokesman for United Ticketmaster indicated that"
"company limited by guarantee. Crusaders attract a loyal support and had the fourth-highest average attendance in Northern Ireland for the 2014–15 season, with an average of 1,275. In the 2015–16 season, their average attendance was the second-highest in the league after Linfield. Crusaders biggest rivals are Cliftonville, with whom they contest the North Belfast derby. Crusaders traditionally dominated the rivalry (not failing to score in home league matches against the Reds from 1949 until 1998) mainly due to Cliftonville's amateur status; since the mid-1970s the derby has been much more competitive. Crusaders have won 115 games to Cliftonville's 78, while"
"The current Irish League league leaders Crusaders are based at Seaview, in the north of the city. Other senior clubs are Glentoran, Linfield, Cliftonville, Harland & Wolff Welders and PSNI. Intermediate-level clubs are: Donegal Celtic, Dundela, Newington Youth, Queen's University and Sport & Leisure Swifts, who compete in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League; Albert Foundry, Bloomfield, Colin Valley, Crumlin Star, Dunmurry Rec., Dunmurry Young Men, East Belfast, Grove United, Immaculata, Iveagh United, Malachians, Orangefield Old Boys, Rosario Youth Club, St Luke's, St Patrick's Young Men, Shankill United, Short Brothers and Sirocco Works of the Northern Amateur Football League and Brantwood"
"Dudley Kingswinford, with the Lions triumphing 19–14. The Lions also won the Warwickshire Cup, winning 10–9 in the final against Sutton Coldfield. Rugby Lions Rugby Lions, nicknamed The Lions, are a rugby union club based in Rugby, Warwickshire in England. The club play their home matches at Webb Ellis Road. Their developmental squad is known as the Crusaders. The club also has a ladies team known as the Lionesses. They currently compete in Midlands 1 East at the sixth tier of the English rugby union system, having switched from Midlands 1 West at the end of the 2017-18 season. Rugby"
"Crusaders F.C. Crusaders Football Club is a professional Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Premiership. The club, founded in 1898, hails from Belfast and plays its home matches at Seaview. Crusaders originally played as a junior team, and then played intermediate football until 1949, and during that time they were one of the top non-league teams in the country, winning the Intermediate League nine times and the Steel & Sons Cup on seven occasions. After the withdrawal of Belfast Celtic, Crusaders were elected in their place in time for the start of the 1949–50 season. Since then the"
"Cambridge R.U.F.C. Cambridge Rugby Union Football Club or CRUFC ('The Blood & Sand') is a rugby union club representing the city of Cambridge, England. Formed in 1923 the club currently competes in the third tier of the English rugby union system, National League 1, following promotion from National League 2 South in 2016. The club plays its home matches at the 1,250 capacity Grantchester Road ground, in the suburb of Newnham, approximately two kilometres south-west of the city centre. The club runs three senior squads: the national league squad, a development squad, and a social squad. At junior level the"
"has three white feathers adorning the centre of a disc with the Flag of St David on. To the left and right of the feathers, the words ""North"" and ""Wales"" appear on the disc as opposed to ""Rugby"" and ""League"" on the old logo. Beneath the feathers remains ""Crusaders"". The Racecourse Ground is located in Wrexham in North Wales and is the official home of the Crusaders and where most matches are played. The club moved to the ground in 2010, in time for the start of the Super League XV season. The first Crusaders match ever played there was"
"its second foray into rugby league in June 2007, when they broadcast four Celtic Crusaders matches live starting with the home match against Barrow Raiders on Saturday 9 June 2007. The Crusaders are Wales' only professional rugby league club. The only other time that S4C have screened the 13-man code was when they showed all three of Wales' 1995 Rugby League World Cup matches where the Dragons progressed to the semi-final stage. These matches will be part of the first individual club deal with a television company in rugby league. However, since the Crusaders selection for the Super League competition,"
"the final. Captained by Mark Beech, Crusaders then went on to become European champions the same year. In 2015 Thatto Heath were relegated from the Premier Division after finishing 11 from 12 teams, ending their five-year stay in the top flight. Thatto Heath appeared in the play offs in each of the seasons in the Premier Division (except for 2015), including finishing top of the table in 2011 and 2013. Thatto Heath run a junior team in the Gillette National Youth League. Thatto Heath Crusaders Thatto Heath Crusaders is an amateur rugby league club situated in Thatto Heath, St Helens,"