1
00:00:06,667 --> 00:00:10,427
Speaker 1: You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine

2
00:00:10,707 --> 00:00:12,547
Speaker 1: from newstalkzb.

3
00:00:13,067 --> 00:00:15,187
Speaker 2: All over the twenty two here go to the Crusaders

4
00:00:15,227 --> 00:00:16,387
Speaker 2: and here goes Tony Taylor.

5
00:00:16,627 --> 00:00:19,347
Speaker 1: Tony Taylor, Tony Taylor.

6
00:00:18,827 --> 00:00:22,787
Speaker 3: Touch the doors.

7
00:00:22,827 --> 00:00:25,747
Speaker 2: Well he got it double at the final at twenty

8
00:00:25,827 --> 00:00:31,747
Speaker 2: twenty three and Tony Taylor out of nothing but twenty

9
00:00:31,787 --> 00:00:32,947
Speaker 2: meters untouched.

10
00:00:33,267 --> 00:00:36,667
Speaker 3: Crusaders at their first lines are open on the final.

11
00:00:36,667 --> 00:00:38,987
Speaker 3: Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine two ninety

12
00:00:38,987 --> 00:00:41,627
Speaker 3: two for your text, as I say, a few postmatch

13
00:00:41,667 --> 00:00:44,227
Speaker 3: interviews to play for you are Scott Barrett in just

14
00:00:44,427 --> 00:00:49,507
Speaker 3: a moment. But you forget how much Crusaders fans love

15
00:00:49,547 --> 00:00:52,547
Speaker 3: the Crusaders until you watch them play live in christ Church.

16
00:00:53,107 --> 00:00:58,147
Speaker 3: That place was absolutely jumping last night. Crusaders fans may

17
00:00:58,147 --> 00:01:00,827
Speaker 3: not turn up every week, but my goodness, when they do,

18
00:01:00,867 --> 00:01:06,787
Speaker 3: they enhance the home advantage significantly. I said yesterday the

19
00:01:06,787 --> 00:01:09,787
Speaker 3: man in the ten jersey could be the most influential

20
00:01:09,827 --> 00:01:12,027
Speaker 3: player on the park. I was right about the jersey.

21
00:01:12,347 --> 00:01:16,787
Speaker 3: I just had the wrong team. Reverez Raehanna superb for

22
00:01:16,867 --> 00:01:19,867
Speaker 3: the Crusaders last night on the biggest night of his

23
00:01:19,987 --> 00:01:22,387
Speaker 3: rugby life. He played the best game of his life,

24
00:01:22,427 --> 00:01:25,547
Speaker 3: outshone his opposite to be named Man of the match. Now,

25
00:01:25,827 --> 00:01:28,787
Speaker 3: the media were granted access to the Crusaders changing sheds

26
00:01:29,107 --> 00:01:31,907
Speaker 3: after the game, and as you can imagine, it was

27
00:01:31,987 --> 00:01:34,427
Speaker 3: pretty raucous in there. The tunes were pumping, the drinks

28
00:01:34,427 --> 00:01:37,627
Speaker 3: were flowing, and the celebrations were loud and getting louder.

29
00:01:37,947 --> 00:01:41,587
Speaker 3: After I came out, the first person I saw was

30
00:01:41,667 --> 00:01:46,187
Speaker 3: Damien McKenzie. He was just sitting outside the Chiefs changing shed,

31
00:01:46,187 --> 00:01:49,627
Speaker 3: which is right next door to the Crusaders one, listening

32
00:01:49,707 --> 00:01:53,427
Speaker 3: to the celebrations and just staring off into the distance.

33
00:01:54,387 --> 00:01:57,507
Speaker 3: Losing one super final must be hard. Losing three in

34
00:01:57,547 --> 00:02:00,827
Speaker 3: a row another thing. Entirely. This is going to sting

35
00:02:01,387 --> 00:02:05,427
Speaker 3: those players for some time yet. And I was right

36
00:02:05,467 --> 00:02:07,867
Speaker 3: in front of the Crusader coach's box last night, and

37
00:02:07,907 --> 00:02:11,707
Speaker 3: when that final whistle went there were scenes of high jubilation.

38
00:02:12,387 --> 00:02:15,107
Speaker 3: Dan Perrin was banging on the glass just about broke it,

39
00:02:15,387 --> 00:02:18,827
Speaker 3: James Marshall brad More high fiving, and standing at the

40
00:02:18,867 --> 00:02:24,627
Speaker 3: back was Rob Penny, this much maligned coach from last year,

41
00:02:24,667 --> 00:02:28,267
Speaker 3: the man who came under the most pressure after twenty

42
00:02:28,347 --> 00:02:32,627
Speaker 3: twenty four, more pressure probably than any Crusader's coach in

43
00:02:32,667 --> 00:02:36,707
Speaker 3: the nearly thirty years of the competition. Hundreds of fans

44
00:02:36,707 --> 00:02:38,867
Speaker 3: in that south stand turned around to look up into

45
00:02:38,907 --> 00:02:41,787
Speaker 3: that box, and they gave Rob Penny a standing ovation,

46
00:02:42,307 --> 00:02:46,587
Speaker 3: and he looked down and smiled, gave the crowd a

47
00:02:46,667 --> 00:02:49,827
Speaker 3: round of applause in return, and just mouthed a simple phrase,

48
00:02:50,627 --> 00:02:53,747
Speaker 3: thank you. His redemption was complete.

49
00:02:53,787 --> 00:02:53,947
Speaker 2: Now.

50
00:02:53,947 --> 00:02:55,627
Speaker 3: He might not see it in that way. In fact,

51
00:02:55,667 --> 00:02:59,467
Speaker 3: I know that he will not. He's taken every opportunity

52
00:02:59,467 --> 00:03:02,467
Speaker 3: to say he had nothing to prove, nothing to redeem.

53
00:03:02,587 --> 00:03:06,787
Speaker 3: But the players told a very different story. Heavily and

54
00:03:06,787 --> 00:03:10,947
Speaker 3: Will Jordan both said afterwards they did it for their coach.

55
00:03:12,387 --> 00:03:15,147
Speaker 3: Last year hurt this proud team very very deeply, and

56
00:03:15,187 --> 00:03:18,547
Speaker 3: they're very proud coach. Probably most of all, every time

57
00:03:18,587 --> 00:03:21,107
Speaker 3: I looked down onto the field after the game, when

58
00:03:21,107 --> 00:03:24,187
Speaker 3: the celebrations were taking place, my eyes kept on getting

59
00:03:24,227 --> 00:03:28,947
Speaker 3: drawn back to Rob Penny, quietly but happily enjoying the

60
00:03:28,987 --> 00:03:31,107
Speaker 3: moment with his family, with his team, with its fans.

61
00:03:31,867 --> 00:03:34,467
Speaker 3: The storylines last night might have been the continuation of

62
00:03:34,507 --> 00:03:38,747
Speaker 3: the Crusader's unbeaten finals record, the farewell to Addington, the

63
00:03:38,787 --> 00:03:41,867
Speaker 3: coming of Age of Rivers, Rayharnah, the continued brilliance of

64
00:03:41,907 --> 00:03:46,027
Speaker 3: Will Jordan, the unbelievable engine of Fletcher Nuwell, the tirelessness

65
00:03:46,027 --> 00:03:48,987
Speaker 3: of Ethan Blackett, of the continued leadership and mona of

66
00:03:49,067 --> 00:03:52,587
Speaker 3: Cody Taylor and David Harvilly. But the story, the real

67
00:03:52,707 --> 00:03:58,067
Speaker 3: story last night for me was Rob Penny. He won't

68
00:03:58,067 --> 00:04:04,147
Speaker 3: call it redemption, but that's exactly exactly what it was.

69
00:04:05,067 --> 00:04:08,427
Speaker 1: For more from Weekends with Jason Fine. Listen live to

70
00:04:08,547 --> 00:04:11,787
Speaker 1: news Talks at B Weekends from midday, or follow the

71
00:04:11,787 --> 00:04:13,307
Speaker 1: podcast on iHeartRadio