The Crusaders make it two in a row with Wayne Smith in 1999. Photo / Getty Images
The Crusaders make it two in a row with Wayne Smith in 1999. Photo / Getty Images
Before he secured himself a reputation as one of the greatest rugby minds of all time, Wayne Smith took the reins of what was then a lowly Crusaders outfit.
Heading the franchise from 1997 to 1999, Smith moulded them into the team they are today. He took the job followinga rocky season which saw the Crusaders finish last. In his first year, they finished sixth and then won back-to-back titles in 1998-99.
Succeeding Vance Stewart and assistant Aussie McLean, Smith and sidekick Peter Sloane led the team into new territory.
He wanted to create a squad that had a united vision and drive to be as successful as possible and knit together fans from the entire Crusaders region, not only Christchurch.
Smith revealed during the Sky Television documentary Wayne Smith - For the love of the game that the 1989 film Henry V served as a source of inspiration and set the team on the course to success.
In particular a scene from the Battle of Agincourt, where the king addresses his troops, struck a chord, Smith said.
"I can still remember playing that video and at the end being real silence in the room and then Andrew Mehrtens said, 'can you play that again?' So we played it again and we probably spent a week discussing it, coming up with a vision and a set of values," Smith said.
Norman Berryman and Andrew Mehrtens Canterbury won the 1998 Super 12 Final. Photo / Getty Images
They then decided to write down the values on what Smith called an "honesty card" that the players had to remember.
"Sounds a bit corny but for us, it wasn't. It was what we needed to do for the players to own the standards and the players to lead that on and off the field.
"We developed some huge leaders. There's some people from that team who have gone on to be great coaches. Some have gone on to be great members of community."
Creating a strength and character among the side, their next move was to win over the region. Smith believed former Canterbury first-five Robbie Deans was the right man for the job and set about bringing him on board as Crusaders manager.
Canterbury Crusaders coach Wayne Smith congratulates captain Todd Blackadder in 1998. Photo / Getty Images
"We set about this whole project of 'me-we', of us putting everything in, it was all about the wider 'we' — the people of the region.
"We had a group of players who, unbeknown to us at that time, were going to be special. For me, it was almost like a cult, we became obsessed with being successful."
Under the watchful eye of Smith, players such as Todd Blackadder, Mark Hammett and Scott Robertson were transformed into pundits with a similar understanding of the game.
His management team was also influenced by Smith's temperament in their coaching. Deans succeeded Smith and led the Crusaders for eight years, with the likes of Steve Hansen, Hammett and Blackadder as his assistants throughout his term.
Deans went on to coach the Wallabies, while Hansen took charge of Wales before joining the All Blacks coaching team, presiding over the most successful era in the team's history.
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