It is hard to find a Crusader that stands out more at the moment than Ryan Crotty. In a typically slow-to-start Crusaders team, his performances to date have been a bright spot in each game. Crotty is more than his performances on the field, he is also the owner of the most magical beard in world rugby (perhaps in the world, full stop), what I like to call the #beardofawesome.
So who exactly is the man behind the beard that has taken the eye of the nation (and perhaps the world)?
Ryan Stevenson Crotty was born on 23 September 1988, one day (and a few years) after yours truly. In my research I couldn’t find a lot about his life before rugby, other than to say he went to Shirley Boys’ High, one of the schools which was severely affected in the Christchurch earthquakes of 2010/2011.
Crotty’s progression through the ranks of rugby is similar to a lot of New Zealand players. In 2005 and 2006, he was part of the Shirley Boys’ High 1st XV team, as well as the Canterbury Under 18 team. In 2006 he was also part of the Southern Region Schools team, before being selected in the New Zealand Schools team, and in 2007 was named in the New Zealand Under 19 team.
It was in 2007 that Crotty also experienced his first taste of top grade senior rugby, being named as part of the Crusaders wider training squad, before being named in the Canterbury ITM Cup squad in 2008. Crotty made his debut for Canterbury v traditional foe, Otago, before being named at the end of 2008 in the Crusaders squad for the 2009 Super Rugby campaign.
Crotty made his debut for the Crusaders against the Western Force, and early on in the match he scored his very first Super Rugby try. To date Crotty has 63 Super Rugby caps to his name and has scored 50 points (10 tries) for the franchise.
2013 was a stand out year for Crotty, his performance for the Crusaders earning him a call up to the All Blacks, for The Rugby Championship series as well as the End of Year Tour. Crotty earnt five caps for the All Blacks in 2013. His made his debut against the Wallabies in Sydney, before playing against Japan, France, England and Ireland in the End of Year Tour.
It was that game against Ireland, which proved for me (and for the nation) that the #beardofawesome has magical powers.
The All Blacks were striving for a perfect season, 14 wins from 14 games, and I don’t think anyone thought it would be Ireland threatening that record. At 79′ Ireland had possession, they were up 22-17 and a huge upset looked to be on the cards. At 79’31” Ireland were penalised and the All Blacks had one last chance to save their perfect season.
And that is just what the All Blacks did. They managed to hold onto the ball for 22 phases of play, 22 phases of play which were completed when Dane Coles passed to Crotty, who then, at 81’21” into the game, scored in the left corner. The score was tied 22-22. The Aaron Cruden conversion was eventually successful (after being allowed a re-kick) and the All Blacks took the game 22-24… breaking Irish hearts everywhere, as you’ll see in the video attached.
It was then that the #beardofawesome truly became a thing of legend. The beard alone had saved the All Blacks’ perfect season. Okay, there were 22 phases before that try, and it was Cruden who actually won the game for the All Blacks… but without the #beardofawesome try, there would have been no chance for a conversion, and absolutely no cause for celebration for the All Blacks.
I am sure you must be wondering now what prompted Mr Crotty to grow such a spectacular beard? It is of course my job to explain the reason behind it… and I have to say, the reason says a lot about who Crotty is as a person.
Much like his beard, he is awesome.
In 2013 it came out that (then) Crusaders midfielder, and Crotty’s good friend, Robbie Fruean, needed open-heart surgery. Crotty explained in an interview that Fruean had told him he was “… going to go ‘Caveman’” (The Press, July 2013) until he got back out on the rugby field, and decided that as a sign of solidarity, he too would ‘go Caveman’. And so the #beardofawesome was born.
Crotty said that he wouldn’t shave his beard off until Fruean made it back onto the rugby field. I must admit to feeling rather panicked when Fruean ran out onto the field in the first Super Rugby game of 2014, to play his first game since his surgery. Were we about to see the last of the #beardofawesome?
After the game rumours abounded that Crotty had shaved off his #beardofawesome. A rumour I badly needed to have confirmed either way. So I did what any tech savvy woman would do, tweeted his teammate, Mike Kainga, and asked if the horrible rumour was true. Very quickly he replied to my tweet, with a photo of Crotty and his luscious #beardofawesome, which as it turns out, he has grown very attached to.
I was lucky enough to see the #beardofawesome, up close and personal, when the Hurricanes took on the Crusaders in Levin, and I can assure you, that thing is even more delightful in real life. As is the man! It would be fair to say that one of my prized posessions now is a photo of my wife with her arm around Crotty and his #beardofawesome, that sunny, blissful day in Levin.
I will now leave you with the official ‘Ryan Crotty Word On Beard Maintainance‘
“obviously trim it, keep it in check, a bit of conditioner, and often comb it” (3 News, Feb 2014).
Words to live by, for those of you who are follically focused!
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Main Photo Credit: Phil Walter via Getty Images
