You want this jersey? Come and get it.

Should I share tips that could put me out of a job?

Senior Crusaders face this question all the time: ‘How much should I help the rookie?’

Here’s Sam Whitelock’s take…

“When I first came into the Crusaders environment Corey Flynn was the old grumpy guy because he's the most experienced at that stage.

“There were a couple of young hookers that came in because Corey was coming to the end of his career.

“Flynnie said to these young hookers, ‘I'm gonna do everything I can to help you. You ask me any question, I'll give you the honest answer. If you want me to train with you, I'll do it. But I'm not gonna give you my jersey; it's your job to take it from me. It's your job to make me retire.’

“So I overheard that conversation and I was like whoa, hang on a minute. This guy is the pinnacle. He's at that stage the most capped, he was outstanding player, played for All Blacks… but he's putting it all on the line saying to these guys, ‘I'm gonna help you. What do you need?’

“That’s something I've always remembered. And now for me in my career, I'm going right, how can I help these other young guys?

“The way I've got to set it up is so as soon as I'm finished, it actually gets better.

“In my mind, that's the hardest thing to do as a senior player is actually give on that knowledge that is eventually gonna put you out of a job.

Bonus story from Corey Flynn: "I had Mark Hammett as my mentor and he said to me, 'look, where you need I'll give you the tools for you to take my jersey, but I won't give it to you. If you are good enough you'll take it off me'.”

It’s that combination of competitiveness and collaboration that sets the Crusaders apart.