Crusaders decision out today

Whether or not the Crusaders change their name will be revealed this afternoon.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the Crusaders will hold a press conference at Rugby Park in Christchurch at noon, which will conclude the brand review the franchise committed to in June.

The looming announcement will reveal what the team will be called from 2021, and the new logo to replace the one already scrapped by the Crusaders.

Regardless of what decision is made, the ‘‘Crusaders’’ name will remain in 2020, the final year before Super Rugby re-launches as a 14-team competition, and the expiry of the Crusaders’ current license agreement with NZR.

‘‘Like all good things, there has been a bit of constructive tension and different opinions around the table, but it’s as joint as you could get it to be,’’ Crusaders chief executive Colin Mansbridge last week told Stuff.

The Crusaders’ board discussed a future brand review in 2017, but it was accelerated after some directed flak at the team for their name and branding in the aftermath of the March 15 Christchurch mosque shootings.

Mansbridge gave nothing away when questioned on the future of the name the franchise has won a record 10 Super Rugby titles under, but confirmed a new logo was a certainty.

The team will play under a ‘‘holding brand’’ next year. Gone is the knight and sword, replaced solely by the ‘‘Crusaders’’ wordmark. ‘‘It is time to evolve. Whether or not March 15 happened,’’ Mansbridge said.

The Crusaders’ boss has repeatedly stressed the terrorist attack and the team should not be linked, which many have done due to the centuries-old Crusades, bloody medieval conflicts between Muslims and Christians.