The Crusaders have vowed to win for their people after Christchurch terrorist attack

Crusaders vice-captain Matt Todd has revealed the agonising wait for information on last week’s Christchurch terror attack, with the team boarding a flight in the midst of the massacre.

Canterbury Crusaders players and staff pause during their Captain's Run training session for two minute's silence, a week on from the Christchurch terror attack, at 11.32am Sydney time, at The Scots College, in Sydney. Picture: AAP

• Tahs to join Crusaders in grief...then battle
• Waratahs must show what they’re made of

Crusaders vice-captain Matt Todd revealed the agonising wait for information on last week’s Christchurch terror attack, with the team boarding a flight in the midst of the massacre.

The team was on its way to Dunedin for last Saturday’s game, which was cancelled following the attack that claimed 50 lives in Christchurch.

“We were actually at the airport, getting ready to travel down to Dunedin, we heard a little bit of it, then hopped on a plane for an hour,” Todd said.

“We were unsure, we didn’t really know when we flew quite what was happening. I guess it was a little bit tough when we didn’t quite understand what was happening, and we had to get on the plane.

“Then by the time we arrived at Dunedin obviously we had more info.

Canterbury Crusaders players and staff pause during their Captain's Run training session for two minute's silence, a week on from the Christchurch terror attack, at 11.32am Sydney time, at The Scots College, in Sydney. Picture: AAP

“It’s tough to leave your city when it's happening in it.”

After their cancelled match and two days off, the Crusaders players regrouped for Saturday night’s clash against the Waratahs at the SCG.

On Friday, the entire squad held two minutes of silence coinciding with the same tribute across New Zealand to show solidarity with Muslims during Friday prayer.

“It has been a very difficult last week, our thoughts are with the people of Christchurch, particularly the Muslim community,” Todd said.

“We’re trying to get out there tomorrow night and put in a performance that does our community justice.

“It really puts rugby in perspective, when tragic events like that happen, just getting our minds back focused on the job.”

Todd said the defending champions are wary of a wounded NSW side that lost to the Brumbies last week.

Canterbury Crusaders players and staff come together at training in Sydney on Friday after observing two minutes’ silence to mark the Christchurch terror attacks. Picture: AAP

“They’re a very dangerous team, they have attacking weapons across the park, their backline is loaded with strike players and they have ball playing forwards and that,” Todd said.

“So we want to control possession as much as we can, and when we do have to defend we have to make sure we’re smart.

“They run a lot of attacking variations so we have to do be smart defensively and work hard to slow their ball down, so they can’t get go-forward ball the whole time. Otherwise we will be chasing our tails the whole time.”