‘Bury a cowbell in my head’: Crusaders boss threatened after bell ban for final

Wednesday, 18 June 2025

Cowbells won’t be getting through the gate at Saturday’s sell-out Super Rugby Pacific grand final in Christchurch at Apollo Projects Stadium.

Crusaders boss Colin Mansbridge says he has received a number of threats after a ban on Chiefs’ fans bringing cowbells to the season’s big dance triggered emotional responses.

Any die-hard Waikato rugby fans planning to bring their bells to Saturday’s sell-out Super Rugby Pacific final in Crusaders territory will have to think again.

The home club has banned the Chiefs’ beloved noisemakers from Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch for the showdown.

Mansbridge explained the decision came down to the stadium size — or the lack of it. The Christchurch stadium only fits 17,000 compared to the Chiefs’ home crowd capacity of 25,000, or Eden Park’s 50,000.

“It’s tight. It’s compact and there’s just enough room to wave a really thin flag,” he wrote in a statement on Linkedin.

“There ain’t no room to swing a bloody big cowbell and take out the person sitting in the seat beside you.”

Mansbridge told Stuff on Wednesday morning he had received threats by phone and email from people very passionate about it.

“It's a bit trite, but now this has turned into something bigger than Africa, I am a little bit concerned about people ‘who say I'm going to show you how I can wave my cowbell around’,” Mansbridge said.

“Some person suggested they’re going to bury a cowbell in my head, that’s how they’re feeling about it.”

The cowbell is practically sacred for Chiefs fans, rooted in Waikato’s farming heritage and tied to the region’s beloved mascot, Mooloo the cow. When the Chiefs joined Super Rugby, the tradition naturally followed.

Mansbridge was quick to reassure visiting fans they’re still “hugely welcome”.

“This is going to be a game for the ages. It’s going to be a game for fans to enjoy.”

Ethan Blackadder celebrates during the Super Rugby Pacific semi-final between Crusaders and Blues at Apollo Projects Stadium last weekend.

But leave the cowbells at home, otherwise venue staff have been asked to “melt them down at the gate”, he joked.

Mansbridge said the cowbell ban had started as banter between him and Chiefs chief executive Simon Graafhuis.

Graafhuis said the ban was “disappointing”, but they have responded by launching a cowbell website where fans can replicate its clanging noise.

While the cowbells were iconic, Chiefs fans would make themselves heard in Christchurch regardless, he said.

The occasion will be the last Super Rugby Pacific final held at the stadium, after hosting the Crusaders team for 14 seasons alongside other sporting and cultural events.

The club will move to the new One New Zealand stadium at Te Kaha, on track for an April opening next year.