More than 250 Crusaders jerseys, some match-worn and associated with some of the club’s biggest names, will go under the hammer in November as collector Mike Bensley begins downsizing his extensive rugby memorabilia collection.

Bensley, 36, runs the Instagram account matchworn_superrugby_jerseys and has spent the past decade amassing more than 500 jerseys from teams across New Zealand and the world.

Now he is preparing to part with almost all his Crusaders jerseys along with a large collection of playing shorts, training gear and other memorabilia, including balls used in All Blacks and Super Rugby matches.

However, he does not know exactly which games the balls were used in.

He also has a sizeable collection of boots, including several worn by former Crusaders and All Blacks winger Sevu Reece, as well as teammates Christian Lio-Willie, Rivez Reihana and Manasa Mataele.

So why sell up?

“It’s just a change in priorities, really, and to be fair it’s quite addictive as well,” Bensley said.

“I’m keen to get my money elsewhere and let someone else take them. With the scale I’ve got, it takes up a bit of room as well.”

Bensley started collecting jerseys 10 years ago while working as a builder in Nelson, where former All Blacks and Crusaders lock Chris Jack was his apprentice.

“He gave me a few tops after because I helped him build his house, and then it pretty much started from there,” he said.

“I’ve still got one of his that he’s signed personally to me, and then a couple I’ve got rid of and swapped, but I’ve still got one here.”

Before turning to collecting, Bensley played for Burnside and represented Canterbury at age-group level as a teenager.

His collection has grown through gifts from players, auctions, purchases from other collectors and swaps.

Luke Romano evades a tackle during the Crusaders’ 2012 victory over the Reds. The team wore one-off jerseys featuring the St John logo to raise funds in the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes. Bensley owns two of the jerseys. PHOTO: GETTY

Among his favourites are game-worn jerseys from Matt Todd and Wyatt Crockett from the Crusaders’ 2012 victory over the Reds.

The team wore one-off striped jerseys featuring the St John logo to raise money in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

He also owns Mark Hammett’s jersey from the 1999 semi-final, a shirt from Dan Carter’s rookie season in 2003 and a No 7 jersey he believes Richie McCaw wore in 2014.

He has been unable to confirm the latter’s provenance because several players wore the same design that year.

Hammett gave Bensley his jersey directly, while Carter’s and the suspected McCaw shirt came from other memorabilia collectors.

Another prized item is Joe Moody’s jersey from his 100th Crusaders game, against the Hurricanes in 2021, which Bensley won at auction after the match.

Joe Moody’s jersey from his 100th Crusaders game against the Hurricanes in 2021 is in Bensley’s possession after he won an auction for it post-game. Photo: Supplied

His overseas collection included a Springboks jersey worn by Danie Rossouw during the 2011 clash against the All Blacks in Wellington, which he sold last month, as well as kit from most of the former South African Super Rugby teams.

He also owns Wasps jerseys worn by former All Blacks Owen Franks and Malakai Fekitoa.

Bensley declined to reveal how much he had spent building his collection — “the wife would kill me” — but admitted it would amount to several tens of thousands of dollars.

He hopes to begin auctioning the jerseys early next month, with most to be listed on TradeMe or promoted through his Instagram account. Rather than flood the market, he plans to release the items gradually.

“We set up a ‘coming soon’ post on Instagram a couple of weeks ago, and obviously people can’t wait for it to drop, but we also don’t want to flood the market as well. I want to kind of drip feed it.

“They average $500 each, which is a very low estimate, plus there’s probably four or five in there at two grand, and over 20 at $800, so my ballpark figure is $150,000 or over.”

Bensley plans to keep a handful of jerseys with sentimental value, including the first one Jack gave him and Hammett’s semi-final shirt.

The proceeds will help fund holidays with his wife, Nicola, and their sons, Lachie and Corey.

“Just while the boys are young, we want to make the most of it. We’re going to Australia already, and then we’ll go to either the US or Fiji late next year hopefully as well.

“I want to jump on it while I can and make the most of the money,” Bensley said.