Seb Calder’s try that closed the curtain on Apollo Projects Stadium

There are tries that change matches, and then there are tries that will be remembered forever.  

When Seb Calder crossed the line on Friday night against the Fijian Drua in the 82nd minute, it wasn’t just another five points the Crusaders added to the scoreline. It was the final try ever scored at Apollo Projects Stadium, and fittingly, the first of his Crusaders career. 

“Yeah, it was pretty cool,” Calder says.  

“Playing the last time at the stadium and then getting my first try, and I suppose the last try at the stadium, I was pretty pumped.” 

Seb now finds himself at the other end of the history books to Sean Maitland – who scored the first try at Apollo Projects Stadium against the Cheetahs on March 24, 2012.  

The try itself reflected who Seb is as a player: no elaborate build- up, no grand celebration – just grit and power – in fact it was rather hard for fans to see who had actually scored the try amongst the many bodies on the line.  

“I don’t know, I just picked the ball up and somehow, I was just over the line. Then I was like, oh, s***, I’ve got a try.” 

That try now sits in Crusaders history, closing the book on a stadium that has hosted so many iconic nights and seen so many iconic moments.

For Calder, that history runs deeper than his professional career. 

“Going there as a kid with my dad, watching the games, and then being one of the last teams to play there and get a try, it was pretty special.” 

Inside the squad, the reaction to Seb getting the last try at the stadium was exactly what you’d expect.  

“There’s a lot of talk around that,” Calder says with a smile when asked if it might end up as a quiz question or on a bottle cap one day.  

“One day, hopefully. It’d be quite cool if it is.” 

Seb’s try helped the Crusaders to their 100th Super Rugby victory at Apollo Projects Stadium, out of a total of 122 games played there.  

It wasn’t quite as theatrical as a Sam Whitelock runway try, or a Mitch Hunt drop goal, but it’ll forever go down in history as the last points the Crusaders recorded after 14 years at a temporary stadium that became a home.