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The walls of John Miles’ office at Rugby Park are adorned with 21 years of Crusaders history.
Miles, better known as “Foxy”, has been a constant presence ever since he joined the franchise, working under four head coaches and helping them to 11 Super Rugby titles.
Now 70, he is regularly asked when he plans to retire. His answer is always the same.
“People say, ‘when are you going to retire’, and that sort of stuff, and my answer usually is, when I don’t want to come to work. When I wake up in the morning and think, ‘oh, I’m going to have to start again today’, but I can honestly say that’s never happened.
“It’s not a job you could do, I don’t think, if you didn’t like it, because it’s a lonely job sometimes, but I’m happy to be alone.”
His office – known around Crusaders headquarters as “Foxy’s Den” – is packed with photos, newspaper clippings and mementoes collected during his time with the franchise.
Miles is responsible for all the equipment the team takes to training sessions and matches, home and away. Playing jerseys, shorts, training gear, strapping tape, water bottles and radios all fall under his watch.
“When we travel away, we take 22 bags,” he said.
“When I first started, we used to take about 14 bags, but obviously science has progressed. There was no such thing as a GPS monitor in your jersey or an electronic mouth guard, things like that – it’s a lot more professional now than it used to be.
“The guys have different stuff now, and a lot more of it, and instead of 30 people in, now it’s 50 or 60.”
GPS monitors, tucked into a patch on the back of each jersey, track the distance each player covers and how fast they do so, while electronic mouthguards record the force of head impacts.
Of course, things do not always go according to plan.
Miles recalls a table loaded with Powerade, water, strapping tape and other pre-match supplies collapsing before a match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein.
“The legs went on it. There was two big drums, one was Powerade and one was water and the lid came off both of them and they just went everywhere.
“I had to get a couple of cleaners in real quick, all the boys were coming in and everyone knew about it because the Powerade was pretty sweet and there was sugary stuff all over. It wasn’t my fault of course, it was a local’s table, they might have meant to do it!”
Tours of South Africa when the likes of the Stormers, Lions and Bulls played Super Rugby were a rite of passage for a team, Miles said.
“It’s a real shame a lot of guys are going to go through their rugby career and don’t get the chance to go over there. I was lucky enough to go 17 times, and it’s a special place, a very special time in your Crusaders life.
“The earlier in the season you go the better because you build teamwork so much.”
As a player in his younger days, Miles was a prop for Albion from 1975-1990, playing for the senior and senior B teams.
He started as club captain in 1986 and was in the role when Albion merged with Marist in 1996 to form Marist Albion.
He spent 30 years in the police until 2004, including 20 years in the criminal intelligence section conducting surveillance operations. It was there he earned the nickname, Foxy, that has stuck ever since.
“When I joined the unit, after a couple of days there someone named me that. It just stuck.”
The contrast between policing and rugby could not have been greater, he said.
“When you’re a cop, everyone hates you. When you’re a Crusader, most people love you.
“As a cop, as soon as you walk up someone’s drive, they think they’re in the shit, or it’s bad news, or something like that. When you’re in a Crusaders kit, everyone wants to say hi, it’s completely different.”
The crossover between the jobs happened in the early 2000s, when future All Blacks coach Steve Hansen, also a cop and coaching the NZ Police team, asked Miles if he could be the team’s manager.
That led to future opportunities with Canterbury Colts, which Hansen was also coaching.
In 2001, Hansen was coaching Canterbury’s NPC side when baggage man Errol Collins needed a knee replacement. Hansen knew just the guy to cover him.
“They said to me, ‘do you want to take some leave from the cops and come and fill in for him for a season?’” Miles said.
“So I did that season, it was a great season – we won the Ranfurly Shield and the championship.”
Previously the baggage man would just look after the team’s equipment.
Miles replaced Collins permanently as baggage man in 2004 and began the same role at the Crusaders the following year. In 2006 the job became known as logistics manager.
Asked about the best players he has worked with, he names Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Sam Whitelock, Brad Thorn and Caleb Ralph among the best.
“There’s so many, when we talk about picking your best ever team, it’s just impossible. You could pick three people in every position that would be good enough to win any competition.”
Next season will bring significant change to Rugby Park. Head coach Rob Penney is departing, along with senior players including Braydon Ennor, Sevu Reece and Dallas McLeod.
Former assistant Scott Hansen will return as head coach.
“I’ve known Scott for a long time – he was from the Marist Albion club that I’m part of. I knew him there, and when I was manager of Canterbury B and Canterbury Colts, he was a player there.
“It’s going to be a new environment the next year or so, a lot more young people.”
For now, Miles is packing away Crusaders gear in preparation for the 2027 season while helping Canterbury prepare for their NPC campaign, which starts in August.
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