The country of New Zealand is made up of two main islands, the North Island and the South Island. The South Island is larger between the two islands but is however less populous compared to the North Island. Though the South Island is referred to as the Mainland, merely a quarter of the total population of New Zealand inhabit this place. South island rose into prominence primarily through the gold rush period when most of the European settlers aimed at this area as their primary region of settlement.
Sports play a very dominant role in the South Islanders way of life. Some of the most popular sports in this region are rugby, cricket and netball. The most popular sport in South Island is Rugby and this sport is additionally the national sport. A few of the other sports that enjoy some level of popularity in this region are Ice Hockey, basketball and football.
The South Island has separate teams that take part in Rugby League and Rugby Union matches. Their team that participates in the Rugby League matches is called the Canterbury Bulls. This team is based out of the largest city in South Island called Christchurch and also have been in the sports news for winning several Bartercard Cups.
There are a number of teams in South Island that take part in the Rugby Union Matches. The Crusaders, the Canterbury Rugby Football Union, Southland Stags, the Highlanders, Tasman Makos, Buller, Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, West Coast Rugby Football Union and North Otago are the popular teams that play rugby union matches.
Amongst all the teams that play rugby union, it is the Crusaders who enjoy being by far the most successful. Based out of Christchurch, this team was formerly known as the Canterbury Crusaders and participates in the Super 14 championships. This team is also regarded as being one of the most successful teams within the history of Super Rugby. This franchisee also represents the provincial rugby union teams including Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, Buller, West Coast Rugby Football Union and Tasman Makos.
The Crusaders were formed in 1996 in order to represent South Island in the Super 12matches. This team had a dismal start and finished in the last spot in its first season. Their upswing began from 1998 from where they continued a fantastic spree. They have been consistent winners and also have won five Super 12 trophies. Because of their fifth win, the Crusaders were also given the Super 12 trophy for keeps.
Pursuing the Super 12 victories, the Crusaders happen to be playing the Super 14 since its inauguration in 2006. They have claimed two victories both in the Super 14 seasons taking their number of title wins to seven.
Other than being in the news because of their fantastic winning records, this team from South Island also holds several records. The main of those competition records being the top number of points scored within a game and also the most number of tries in a game. Additionally all time high also comes a record of an all time low competition record where the Crusaders scored the minimum number of points in the game against the Otago Highlanders.