What stories do you tell?

In 1998, rather than asking the Crusaders to look to the past as a source of inspiration, Wayne Smith started telling stories about who they wanted to be; and that year he used Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V film to tell that story.

“It was heroic when you've got a few fighting the many. And you've got a leader out there prepared to lead the way.”

“Gilbert [Enoka] and I hired a VHS video editing suite, and we took out bits of the Battle of Agincourt speech. We merged in some footage of heroic acts from players on the field the previous year. We put our horses on there, and the music. So we tried to identify as Crusaders alongside Henry V.”

“And that was a start of a theme that resonated with the team.”

Themes form one part of the stories the Crusaders tell. They all tell a bigger story: ‘This year is a special year’.

The other stories speak to legacy: ‘What does it mean to be a Crusader?’

And those stories — told by everyone on the team — keep a culture alive.