Bryn Hall: former Crusader on the side making it to the Super Rugby final

The Crusaders go into Saturday's Super Rugby final with about as unblemished a record as you could ask for.

They've won 31 home playoff matches over their history and never lost a single one!

So is that a bonus, or a psychologiccal burden? Former Crusader Bryn Hall spoke to Jason Pine on Sportstalk.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the sports Talk podcast with Dancy Wildegrave
from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
The Crusade Jenios what a heart stopper and nail fighter.
No hear lifts. But it's the Crusaders who fight away.
Wait don't they fight away here at christ Church at
Playoff Rugby. They'll host the final next week. They've pete

(00:35):
the Blues tweety what points to fourteen?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Indeed they did, and they will welcome the Chiefs who
will have to break a significant piece of rugby history
if they have to lift the trophy. As mentioned, the
Crusaders have never lost the finals match at home thirty
one straight since the competition began in nineteen ninety six.
Bryn Hall played a big part of that run, playing
nearly one hundred matches in the Crusaders Super Rugby, winning

(01:00):
sides from twenty seventeen through to twenty twenty two inclusive,
and he joins us now Bryn undefeated and finals matches
at home as a Crusader's player. Were you aware at
the time of that record as you were helping to
build it.

Speaker 4 (01:16):
Look, I think yeah, we probably got told from the
media right that that it was kind of happening and
kind of playing out as it was, So I guess
you kind of heard it from the outside noise like
it internally, It wasn't really something that was driven to
talk to that you kind of knew about it, and
you almost said a tench of pride that there's been
a lot of work done before us, and so yeah,
you knew about it, But I wouldn't say it was

(01:38):
a detriment to do whatsoever.

Speaker 3 (01:40):
So it never became a burden, never became something that
that caused pressure shivers. We don't want to be the
first side in reading Black to lose a finals game
at home.

Speaker 4 (01:49):
No, I don't think that it never really got talked
about like that, thinking around there, having anxiety around it.
I think it's someone was almost acknowledging that that it
was there and was great in terms of that. We
enjoyed playing at home and loved playing in christ Roots.
So the preparation side of it kind of more so
top care of you. You get your weak done, I mean,
you do everything that's required for you through that week
to be able to then go and pull more on

(02:09):
the field, So that he wasn't really talked about. I
guess in a bad Way. Like I just said, it's.

Speaker 3 (02:14):
An incredible record. Though, Brian, why has it been so difficult,
in fact impossible for teams to go to christ Church
and win knock out rugby matches?

Speaker 4 (02:24):
That's the great question. I don't know. I think you
probably have fout the other things that come down and play.
But I can only speak from my experience. You know,
I was only a part of a six year period,
but all the guys that were there before us that
kind of started, and then obviously the boys that are
playing there now. But well, I think the conditions do
play a big part of it down in christ Church.
I think you probably saw on the weekend. It's a
lot different probably what you see in the early part

(02:44):
of the year. You tend to get there's a nice
running rugby in your first part of it, but when
you kind of get into the May June it gets
quite cold. You change the style of footing. You probably
saw that on the weekend as a very not more
than hem a seat, but a lot of checking dictated
in terms of how the game was won in set
piece as well. So you look at the set piece
pressure that the crusader's put on the blues on the weekend.
It's probably I guess the DNA what you see in

(03:06):
the timow time of the year when it comes to rugby,
and I think the defensive pressure and the kid that
that have shown on the weekend has probably just been
showing I guess for a long period of time, and
the crusader's using how much it means to defend your
line and winning championships on what that looks like.

Speaker 3 (03:19):
Did you ever seen certain opposition teams are feeling that
once they fell behind to you in christ Church or anywhere,
really they wouldn't be able to come back. A slumping
of the shoulders, a change in body language that you
kind of thought, Hey, these guys aren't going to come
back and win this.

Speaker 4 (03:34):
Not necessarily, I think there were definitely times where games
would be tight, and I think it just comes down to,
I guess, you know, not overplaying your hand. I think
in finals footing and pressure footy, you're only really need
to concentrate on your job and been able to do
that time and time to get under pressure. Now, look,
you're not always going to get that right. You're going
to be able to lose some moments and you're not
always going to get things right, But I guess it
is a bit of a cliche, but process driven and

(03:56):
next past focus. It's just kind of driven, and both
habits are built through the week. Those habits are built
through the years of I've been able to play with
each other, heaving those kind of scenarios and fields of
winning what those big games I've playing. A lot of
that group has been through that tenure of you know,
winning the seven championships, So that pedigree in DNA is
infictious for the young guys or the new guys that
have come through and knowing I guess what it looks

(04:16):
like in what it takes coin finance footy at that
time of the year.

Speaker 3 (04:19):
If you were in the Chiefs camp this week, would
you expect there to be some chat about how they
can be the record breakers, they can be the ones
to do something that nobody has done before or do
you think that wouldn't be part of their motivational fuel?

Speaker 4 (04:34):
Oh, I'm not through sure that. I think it gets
talked about in the media. So you know, especially with
the day and age or social media, it's already been
talked about in the media. You probably see memes through
it through throughout the week, but you know, I guess
for them, I think you know, the Chiefs are ready
in terms have been able to If there is one
thing I think in the competition that can do it,
it'll be them. I think in the last you know,
eight years or nine years, you know, they've been the
most successful team against the Crusaders team and forever the

(04:57):
times that I played them, there are always some big
battles and they're just very hard to beat. There a
lot of similarities in terms of pressure footy. They work
really half off the board. They've been very really very
good in the collisionary for most of the year. But
that that that that Blues game a fortnight ago, but
the way that they did play against the Brumbies, I
think you know they're their type before you that they

(05:17):
do play and whether that's through their forward pack. We've
seen Damien m Kendy, Shawn Stevenson, even Quinta Pires form
in their backs. They've got kind of all all the
things that you need, I guess to want to to
win a championship in and not not in just one areas,
in multiple yeas. I think that they can do to
be able to pressure the Crusaders on the weekend all.

Speaker 3 (05:34):
Right, and just to finish. Regardless of the result, this
will be the final game at at Addington. Supposed to
be a makeshift temporary stadium when it was stood up,
it's been there for well over a decade. Now. Do
you think any part of the Crusaders organization will be
sorry to say goodbye to dear old Eddington.

Speaker 4 (05:51):
I don't think that'd be sorry. I think how that
stadium in Christri that's Benfield, is just going to be
It's just gonna be so great for the city. I think,
not just for rugby, but the multi purpose of being
able to have events and bringing people and bringing things
down across has probably been missed a lot. And so
you know the Crusade are a big part of that.
And I know Eddington is purpose and there's one a
lot of titles human and saying that in some ways

(06:12):
it is hard to win down there, with how hard
it is to play at Addington. But I think eving
the closed roof in, I guess the buzz that you're
going to get from that stadium. I think. Look, I
think the players in and the city are really good.
I guess say goodbye to Anderson and they've served its purpose.
For a foremost a decade, and I think it's going
to be a new beginning and something that's really exciting
for the group and the Crusaders moving forward, moving to

(06:32):
that and to the new indoor stadium.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
One more game to come, one we're all very much
looking forward to. Thank you so much for joining us tonight,
Brun really appreciate your time, no promise.

Speaker 4 (06:40):
No thank you.

Speaker 1 (06:41):
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