Name change for Crusaders

Wales’ only Super League club will be rebranded as “Crusaders Rugby League” to coincide with their move to Newport for the 2010 season.

Formed as Celtic Crusaders in 2005, the club has also changed their logo to a new modern design that has the Prince of Wales feathers on a St David’s cross background.

Crusaders’ chief executive Mike Turner said: “We’ve been working hard on building a club that represents Wales and not just one area. In the past, we’ve been associated a little too much with the old Celtic Warriors adopting half of their name and even using an adaptation of their badge. It wasn’t surprising as we were playing out of their old ground but now we want to emphasise that we are a team that represents this whole nation.

“We are very much building for the future here at the Crusaders. We recently announced our new coaching team headed by the legendary Brian Noble with Jon Sharp and Iestyn Harris also coming into the club. We are moving into new offices at Rodney Parade in Newport later this month, which is where we will play the majority of our home Super League games and we’ll be announcing the first batch of new signings very soon.”

Celtic won just three games in Super League last term, and were dogged with controversy throughout the season.

However, with a move to Newport and the arrival of Noble and his coaching team, the future looks bright for the Crusaders, as they plan for next season.