Crusaders deny race policy

Christchurch - New Zealand Super 14 side, the Crusaders, on Thursday denied a claim by a former All Black that it has a policy of limiting the number of non-white players in its squad.

Outspoken former lock Andy Haden told a television station's sports programme that the Crusaders - Super Rugby's most successful team - had a formal policy restricting the number of non-white players to only three.

"Once they've recruited three, that's it. That's their ceiling. Three darkies... no more," Haden said during a panel discussion on the "Deaker on Sport" programme broadcast on Wednesday night.

"In the Crusaders' manual, there it is, it's enshrined in their articles, and they've stuck by that. And they know damn well that that's the case. And it's worked."

The claim was angrily denied by Crusaders chief executive Hamish Riach, who challenged Haden to produce evidence.

"The whole damn thing is a fiction. It's completely untrue. I don't know what he is referring to. It's utterly untrue. It makes no sense to me," Riach told commercial radio.

"Our mission statement doesn't say that. It's an extraordinary claim that isn't based on any fact."

Haden, who played 41 Tests between 1972 and 1985, stuck to his guns when he spoke to commercial radio on Thursday.

"It's what they've operated on and it's been very successful," he said.

"I'm not saying I disagree with it, I think you have to get a mix right with all sorts of circumstances, all sorts of teams and some mixes don't work for them."

The Crusaders, who were beaten by the Bulls in their Super 14 semi-final last weekend, have three Pacific Islanders their current team in Kahn Fotuali'i, Robbie Fruean and Ti'i Paulo.

The squad also has six players of indigenous Maori extraction - Tim Bateman, Thomas Waldrom, Kade Poki, Jonathan Poff, Zac Guildford and Isaac Ross.