David Havili signs on for another two years with Crusaders
David Havili of the Crusaders
Photo:
© Photosport Ltd 2025 www.photosport.nz
Crusaders captain David Havili has re-signed with the Super Rugby Pacific club for another two years
In his 10th season with the club, Havili said there were a number of reasons for him staying.
"I've really enjoyed the opportunity to lead the boys this year and the success we've had. I'm so glad to have signed on for another couple of years and keep this train rolling," he said.
The 30-year-old, who has played 30 games for the All Blacks, is closing in on 150 games for the Crusaders.
"Reaching that milestone and playing 150 games for this club will be pretty special," he said.
Havili first joined the Crusaders in 2015 and was named Crusaders Player of Year in 2017.
Head Coach Rob Penney said Havili a key part of the glue that holds the Crusaders together.
"His DNA is red and black and he's such a committed member of this organisation. The leadership he's provided to the club has been really valuable and it's wonderful to have him and all his experience in the organisation for another two years," Penney said.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter
curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

RNZ News
42 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Netball: Tenacious Magic midcourter impresses as ball-winner
Magics Georgie Edgecombe Photo: DJ Mills / Georgie Edgecombe's ball-hunting abilities in a position that doesn't usually shine has been turning heads in the ANZ Premiership. The Magic midcourter has been the most consistent performer in a team that struggled until earlier this week when the Magic had a big win over the Stars to notch up their first win of the season. The 24-year-old's explosiveness off the mark and closing speed have seen her win a lot of ball at wing defence, a position which requires a lot of graft but doesn't necessary get the rewards. But after four rounds, Edgecombe is in the top 10 for intercepts and sits fourth for deflections behind circle defenders Carys Stythe, Catherine Hall, and Jane Watson. Edgecombe grew up in Hamilton and lives in Cambridge where she went to St Peter's for her college years. While she was at St Peter's, she played alongside some of the country's top up and coming female athletes in two other sports, including Tall Fern Charlisse Leger-Walker. Edgecombe won national sporting titles for her school and representative sides in basketball and touch. St Peter's were national New Zealand Secondary Schools basketball champions. Leger-Walker, who has made a name for herself in women's college basketball in the United States, spearheaded the college A-team, alongside fellow Tall Fern Ella Bradley, who also plays in the USA. Former Tall Fern Leanne Walker coached the St Peter's team back then. "I was keen to be a part of the basketball team and have some fun. Obviously Charlisse is a bit of a GOAT so it was cool to play alongside her and her mum Leanne coaching us, so we had a pretty strong team led by Charlisse and Ella," Edgecombe said. Edgecombe also played in the U18 Waikato touch team when they became national champions. Members of that side would go on to represent New Zealand in touch and sevens. "Touch was definitely my summer sport that I gravitated towards and would still love to play but there's not much time in the year at the moment but loved touch and that kind of whānau based sport that I grew up playing, I spent a lot of summers on the touch field." Charlisse Leger-Walker of New Zealand Tall Ferns. Photo: Photosport Edgecombe's start in netball was typical. "I started playing when I was about eight or nine. I was definitely super sporty and netball was just one of the sports I participated in," Edgecombe said. "My parents encouraged us, I've got two older brothers we did as many sports as we could, mostly as a social thing at first and as we got a bit older got a bit more competitive and wanted to take it more seriously." At St Peter's she came under the tutelage of former Silver Fern Amigene Metcalfe, who would later become the coach of the Magic when Edgecombe first joined the team. Edgecombe captained the Senior A netball team for the three years that she was in the side. In her final year at St Peters, she was head girl and very busy. "I tried to play those other sports as long as I could but going into my final year was probably when I thought 'I could continue netball after school' and started thinking about it a bit more seriously. In year 13, I focussed mainly on netball, I still played touch in the summer but in those winter months it was just netball, it was school, it was reps." Her decision to focus on netball paid off - later that year she was named in the NZ Secondary Schools Squad for 2018. In her first two year's out of college, Edgecombe was a Magic training partner and played for the feeder team in the National Netball League. In 2020, she made the NZ U21 squad ahead of the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup, which was cancelled due to Covid. Her second season as a fully contracted Magic player in 2022 was a baptism of fire, when she was thrust into the wing attack position to help cover injury. She was mostly a circle defender at high school and the new position was counter-intuitive to what she was used to. In the season's since then she has mostly played wing defence and a bit at centre. "Wing defence is where I feel most comfortable and feel like I can have the most impact on a game at the moment but I do enjoy when I get to play centre just having the ball in your hands a bit more." Georgie Edgecombe (right). Photo: Photosport Now in her fifth year at the Magic, Edgecombe has taken a number of stunning intercepts this season. "That's every defenders most exciting part of the game and what we work towards in our trainings. I think wing defence can sometimes be a bit of a grind position where you do a lot of work out front to set things up for the defenders behind you, but it's cool in our defensive unit we've got structures where anyone can get ball. "It's just putting yourself in the right positions and definitely exciting and an adrenaline rush when you get those cool intercepts." What are the physical attributes that allow her to cover so much ground? "Agility comes into it but a lot of it I would say is fitness, having a good engine to be able to keep going for the full 60 minutes. My fitness is something I worked hard on in the off season and it allows me to keep running, that's my mentality. The wing attacks are running everywhere so I have to try keep up with them." Edgecombe was named in the Silver Ferns development squad for the first time last year, played for NZA in training matches against the Silver Ferns, and played for the FAST5 Ferns in November. She graduated from Waikato University at the end of 2022 with a Bachelor of Communications and is still figuring out what she wants to do with it. Edgecombe is not afraid to say she has her sights on the Silver Ferns. "For sure, that's definitely the goal long-term. For now my main focus is helping the Magic to be successful ... and whatever will be in the future whether it's this season or in the next season ...hopefully, it's definitely the goal." Veteran Magic circle-defender Georgia Tong said it was an asset having someone as tenacious as Edgecombe in the team. "You know that she's always going to have your back and she's just going to go and go and go again and she's a really positive person as well. Being on the line next to her is really good when you know you haven't got a few balls in awhile, she's always like 'come on we've got this next one'," Tong said. The Magic meet the Stars again on Monday night in Auckland.


Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Highlanders' 2015 title sticks in mind
Josh Cook. PHOTO: SUPPLIED 1. Favourite rugby memory? Probably the Highlanders winning the 2015 Super Rugby championship. That was a good day and a good Sunday as well. I was flatting in Dunedin, and there was a big complex party where we were living in Forth St. 2. Hardest opponent? It would have to be Clutha. They're always pretty tough, yeah. 3. What rugby player do you admire and why? Aaron Smith. He's pretty sharp, just with his skill level. I can't really say I model my game after him but I try to work on my pass. 4. What do you do to relax? I play a bit of golf, not very well. I like walking the dogs, and doing a bit of paua diving and fishing. 5. If Josh Cook is cooking, what are we eating? Every morning for breakfast I make avocado and eggs on toast with hot honey. It's a spicy honey and it's really good. Burns a bit of a hole in the pocket, though.


Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
‘Building something very special'
Highlanders boss Roger Clark would rather not have a wooden spoon on display in his office but he believes they are building "something very special". The Highlanders are flat-tack this week with player and staff reviews following the end of their disappointing season. Nobody at the club is turning cartwheels at a points table showing them dead last with three wins from 14 games, but they appear to be committed to playing the long game in the belief they are putting positive steps in place. Clark, who has seen all the ups and downs in his 15 years as Highlanders chief executive, told the Otago Daily Times he was optimistic about the future despite reflecting on the last placing in 2025. "I am disappointed with the result — every year we start the campaign with the objective of winning," he said. "In saying that, I am incredibly proud of the effort everyone put in and like others I feel like we are building something very special with this group of young men." Clark acknowledged the heart-warming response from Highlanders fans to the season's challenges. The surprising reaction to the wooden spoon has largely been one of understanding and patience, rather than recrimination and acrimony, perhaps a reflection on the support base's faith in coach Jamie Joseph to turn things around. "That is very encouraging. "However, I am under no illusion this can occur for one year, and come 2026 Super Rugby Pacific, we need to turn the learnings and fans' faith into wins on the field." The Highlanders have re-signed nearly all their best players. That suggests the environment at the club is at a higher mark than their on-field placing, and Clark said continuity was a big part of building a winning team. "It is important that the club's retention is healthy. "Jamie and his team have built a great environment, and the players are endorsing this by signing future contracts. They enjoy being part of the club and believe this team can achieve something special." Joseph and his coaching staff had two major roles, Clark said. The first was to build an environment that players wanted to stay in or join, and the other was to develop players and a winning game plan. "While the wins didn't come, everyone could see that the game plan was there to win. Execution and decision-making at key moments let us down; some of this is experience and the other is not being good enough." Clark would not comment on the make-up of Joseph's coaching team next season. Clarke Dermody, Dave Dillon, Ben Smith, Cory Brown and Kane Jury were assistants this year. The Highlanders attracted an average crowd of 13,500 this season. "That was a great result considering the table finish," Clark said. "Significantly, the Super Rugby competition is in the strongest position it has been for a number of years with average attendance and viewership both on the rise across the competition."