Mitchell Drummond: Crusader on latest sporting milestone

Crusaders half back Mitchell Drummond became just the 8th Crusader to don the jersey 150 times in last nights derby match against the Highlanders.

Drummy as he is known spoke with Lesley Murdoch the morning after about the milestone, the match and how much the Crusaders mean to him.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
We go hideaway, daylight, we go under cover, word out
of the sun. Can a secret side and play side
with this red cerinty. That's where we run every the
people do every things. Boday can be one of them.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
I know you hear me.

Speaker 1 (00:24):
Now we are at their freakin We can do anything.

Speaker 2 (00:29):
We could be news talks, I'd be. It is seven
minutes past eight and this hour we are very fortunate
to be talking to a lot of heroes, a lot
of Cantabrian sports people who are amazing inspiration aspirational athletes,

(00:51):
and one of them right now. After a Torror game
last night over at Apollo Projects Stadium, Mitch Drummonds celebrate
one hundred and fifty matches for the Crusaders, remembering that
he has already notched one hundred matches for Canterbury. It
is a unique double and Mitch joins us, good.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Morning, good morning, good morning. How are we?

Speaker 2 (01:13):
Oh, look, we're really good. Congratulations. It's a phenomenal feat
the loyalty. Just how you look at professional sport these days,
and you know people move around to get the best steal.
You have had offers, you have stayed here and you
obviously love playing for the Crusaders and the Red and Black.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, I do. It's I've said it all week, but
it's a place that's really special to me. And it's
been a really special week and last night was a
night that I remember for a long time.

Speaker 2 (01:45):
Twenty fourteen, Mitch, you debut. You got ninety seconds on
the wing.

Speaker 3 (01:50):
Yeah, yep, and I didn't touch the ball, I didn't
make a tackle, probably a little bit of a unique devout,
but they all count as.

Speaker 2 (02:00):
You probably didn't have to wash a gear.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
No, No, it was out there for a very short
time and done. But as I said, it was, they
all count.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, they do. They certainly do an important because you
need fifteen on the field, that's for sure. Twenty twenty one,
you noted your one hundredth Crusader cap, which was phenomenal.
Then and then last night, as mentioned the one hundred
and fifty, and you think of the success that the
Crusaders franchise has had during that time. I mean it's
hard for you to pinpoint you one moment over another,

(02:33):
but what a buzz being part of this franchise.

Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yeah, it's as I said, it's a really special place
and it's the people that make it we've obviously been
fortunate enough to be really successful through the last eight
nine years or so, but it's just a pleasure to
turn up every day and was like minded people and
people that I really care about.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
And it's not like you are getting your position as
of right. There has been competition for that half back
position all the way through.

Speaker 3 (03:08):
Yeah, it has, and I think that's the beauty of
the team as well, not just in half back position,
but across the whole team. There's healthy competition and we're
all competing to play, but at the same time we've
all got the common goal of winning games of footy.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Just casting our eyes back to last night, what did
you make of that match? I mean, there's a few
people feeling very sorry for the Highlanders, but in the end,
you've got to get more points than the opposition and
that's what the Crusaders did.

Speaker 3 (03:41):
Yeah. It was a good old fashioned ding dong Southern derby,
a gritty, tough old night and we were fortunate earth
to come out on the right side of it. And
I think it'll put us in good stead having a
game like that as we move into the next few
weeks where finals start to loom. But yeah, it's always

(04:03):
nice to win those close ones that could have gone
either way.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
You've seen Sevu Reese play during his record sixty six tries.
Amazing athlete to be part of the Crusaders.

Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, sixty six tries and I think he's only played
just over eighty games, so it's a pretty impressive strike
raid And I know he got stranded a little bit
over the last sort of four or five weeks where
he was saying he wasn't sure if he was ever
going to manage to get the record himself. But it

(04:37):
was a pretty cool night across the board last night
with Sevu getting that top try scoring spot by himself
and also celebrating Dallas Mcloud's fiftieth game as well. He's
a top man and I'm sure he'll be a round
for a few more games as well.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Interesting for you, I guess the family dynamics that you
were playing a match against a team that your dad's
got investments in.

Speaker 3 (05:03):
Yeah, I made that pretty clear that we couldn't lose
last night.

Speaker 2 (05:09):
Oh good times. Two weeks in a row the Crusaders
have had to make over two hundred tackles. I mean,
there'll be some sore bodies this morning. How's yours?

Speaker 3 (05:20):
Oh? I actually haven't played a lot of rugby in
the last well this year really, so yeah, I've woke
it up a little bit better than bruise, but it
was all worth it. But I also think we if
we can work out a way that we don't have
to make as many tackles as we are, probably wouldn't
go with us.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Yeah. Oh gosh, amazing, isn't it When it comes to
the crunch though. We heard Rob Penny say in the
aftermatch that they've got solutions. That's just about putting them
out there and doing the job. It's got. It's a
mindset thing, I guess, is it.

Speaker 3 (05:56):
Yeah, Well, if you don't make them yet, you're not
going to when games are footy. But we've shown that
we can do it and we can go deep into
the well and you know, go to those places that hurt.
But it would be ideally better if we didn't have to.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
We talked about the change in the tempo of the
game this year and how it's ramped up mainly because
of those the insistence of the referees to move things
along and not take as much time at scrum time
at kick time. How are generally the team harder or
you enjoy it.

Speaker 3 (06:36):
I definitely enjoy it. It's I think super aby across
the whole competition is there's been more interest in it
and little things like the table. We look at the
table throughout the season and it's been closer teams scrapping
it out for those top six positions, and I think
the games and super Aggy as a product is not

(06:58):
a bad place at the moment.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Yeah, i'd agree with that. It's certainly interesting weekend and
week out. You don't know who's going to come out
on top. When you think about your own future, Mitch
Drummond and the tantalizing prospect of Tikaha opening up next year,
You'll definitely be around.

Speaker 3 (07:16):
I'd love to be around. Yeah, it's sort of working
through that dynamic at the moment, but yeah, it's I'd
love to be involved in, you know, in the Crusaders
that get to play in that new stadium. And I
was I'm as Jade Stadium. I came after the earthquakes,

(07:37):
so I'd love to love to be around for the
new one.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
Yeah, Oh's Jade's stadium, Gourse. It's a blast from the past,
isn't it. Quite that old No, oh my goodness. Well,
look you're a champ for getting up and chatting to
us this morning. As I said, look, you think of
white Crockett two hundred and three seem white like one
hundred and eighty two, Treks one hundred and sixty four
here and read one hundred and fifty seven, Ryan Croddy

(08:04):
one hundred and fifty six, Andy Ellis one hundred and
fifty five and Corey Flynn one hundred and fifty one.
And now you have joined that list. It's pretty impressive
reading for the Crusaders for a professional franchise.

Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, it's awesome, And I think that just speaks volumes
of the club as well. To have that number of
guys hang around for as long as it takes to
get to one hundred and fifty I've speaks volumes of
the environment and the club that those guys have put

(08:38):
so much into. And hopefully we can keep the ball rolling.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
Yeah, I'm sure you will much, Thanks very much. I
don't know what you've got planned for this morning, Probably
maybe a swim or something to sort of panel beat
at your body a bit.

Speaker 3 (08:52):
Yeah, yeah, we're Me and Charlotte are actually off to
ekiov my father in law's birthday weekend, so looking forward
to that and it's going to be nice to take
a deep breath and reflect on what's been an.

Speaker 2 (09:05):
Awesome week and an awesome career so far. More to come. Oh,
that's fantastic, and give our regards to Charlotte by the way,
we'll do. Thank you very much, and thank you very
much for coming to the phone. We appreciate it.

Speaker 3 (09:17):
Thanks Leadie, thanks for having.

Speaker 2 (09:18):
Me, thank you, and thanks for the one hundred and
fifty matches. That's awesome.

Speaker 3 (09:22):
Yeah, no problem, hopefull there's a couple more to come.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
Yeah, me too, Mitch drum and joining us on the
All Sport Breakfast great Stuff next.

Speaker 3 (09:30):
For more from News Talks ed B.

Speaker 2 (09:32):
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