Ep 14: Colin Mansbridge – “Crusaders rugby and their place in the community”

To belong somewhere it seems helpful to have a kind of a map – of its people, their names, and the organisations that are prominent parts of that landscape. In Canterbury, Crusaders rugby is one such prominent name. Known for their many successes, for the coaches and the culture they’ve built, and the players who’ve come to be part of that story.Here, their CEO, Colin Mansbridge, talks about his joining the Crusaders from a rural banking background, but also of the team’s connection with the city, especially after the 2010/2011 earthquakes when all of their games had to be away from home. He speaks of their quiet work for good causes and, too, the struggle over their name after the 2019 mosque attacks. That’s when my own interactions with Colin began. The historical associations of “crusading” were material for passionate defenders and critics alike, and a fertile ground for provocative media stories. Serving then as the media spokesperson for Masjid An-Nur my concerns were for a wounded and vulnerable community being dragged into “no-win” spaces. We met and talked, and we keep in touch.