The impressive progress delivered by the seven Welsh clubs playing in the Conference has given rugby league a solid base of adult players and Wales has a worldwide reputation as a rugby-playing nation.

The Crusaders come into professional rugby league playing out of the excellent Brewery Field Stadium in Bridgend and having lodged a robust business plan with the RFL.

The Rugby Football League admitted the Celtic Crusaders club; now with badge, ground, website and shareholders; on 22 June 2005 during a meeting in Salford.

By the end of November coach John Dixon had completed his squad, drawn heavily from Bridgend Blue Bulls and Aberavon Fighting Irish clubs.

Just three weeks after the Moscow match, on 1 April the team suffered their first ever defeat as Hornets won 32–8 and Crusaders were thus eliminated from the 2006 Challenge Cup.

[33] London Skolars were brushed away with a 70–0 victory in front of 634 fans in Crusaders' first home match of the league campaign, with centre Carl De Chenu scoring four tries.

[34] The club had decided prior to the season to take two home fixtures to other parts of South Wales,[35] the first of which was a 36–18 win over Hunslet watched by 415 people at Talbot Athletic Ground in Aberavon.

On 8 June chief executive Chris O'Callaghan resigned after 13 months in the job, during which he was highly important in forming the club and getting them into the professional leagues.

[58] Just before the start of the season it was announced that Welsh former player Jonathan Davies had been appointed Honorary President of the club,[59] and that he would be attending matches throughout the year.

[60] The club also announced that they were moving their training ground to the RAF's St Athan base,[61] beating off competition from Cardiff City who also wanted to use the facilities;[62] and that Frenchman Thibault Giroud had been appointed as new fitness coach.

[75][76] This Bulmers Original Cider Challenge match attracted a lot of attention from the South Wales media and a record crowd of 2,041 came to see Crusaders lose 6–32 with a very credible performance.

The amateur team were beaten 50–10 at Brewery Field despite Crusaders being reduced to eleven players after Geraint Davies and Terry Martin were both sent out after 65 minutes.

[96][97] League leaders Featherstone Rovers were beaten 36–28 at home[98] and then on 9 June Crusaders beat another title-contending team in Barrow 26–14 in front of S4C as the match was broadcast live across Wales.

[112] Housebuilder Redrow Homes renewed their shirt sponsorship deal[113] whilst a new branding of the club's logo, badge and jersey was announced on 3 December promoting a more progressive and modern image.

[118] They were coached by Dan Clements[119] and eventually came second in the league table, winning 15 out of 18 matches and beating Bramley Buffaloes 26–4 in the Grand Final.

[126] In what was expected to be a fiercely competitive and close match, the Championship Cup holders were left shocked as the Crusaders ran riot resulting in a 50–18 final scoreline with seven different players all going over for tries.

The semi-final was played on 14 June against the Salford City Reds travelling down to Brewery Field for the first time after being relegated from Super League the previous year.

The World Club Challenge champions were simply too strong for the Welshman with the match finishing a commendable 38–16 with Anthony Blackwood getting two tries and Mark Dalle Cort getting one in what was a solid performance.

A resurgence occurred though as Crusaders scored three tries in the second half, but a Salford City Reds try and a late goal pushed the match into extra-time.

The Crusaders were awarded a 'C' grade licence after varying factors such as stadium, finance, marketing, location, player strength and junior production were taken into account.

For the rest of the season the club prepared for their top-flight debut, signing a new sponsorship deal with Brains Beer,[130] and in November the team embarked a three-week training camp in Queensland.

Adding to the disappointment was the announcement by David Thompson, who had led the successful Super League application, that he was stepping down as chief executive to return to his legal career.

[137][138] On the field the squad was bolstered by news that eight players had been granted visas just a week before the club's top-flight début as National League One Grand Finalists Tony Duggan, Josh Hannay, Mark Dalle Cort, Damien Quinn, Jace Van Dijk, Darren Mapp and new signings[139] Australian Ryan O'Hara and Papua New Guinean Jason Chan flew to Wales.

[140][141][142][143][144] An early February start kicked off the new Super League season with the Crusaders against reigning champions Leeds Rhinos in freezing conditions at Headingley.

A strong 5,200 crowd cheered their team into a 10–0 lead but Hull recovered, finishing with a 20–28 victory and leaving Crusaders with a three-game losing streak.

[citation needed] The club then considered a move to Newport's Rodney Parade in a bid to attract more fans and to gain extra licence points as the stadium was much more developed then Brewery Field, the latter of which Leighton Samuels no longer owned after selling the ground.

A ribbon around the bottom of the shield bore the motto Oderint dum metuant (Latin for "Let them hate, so long as they fear"), which is attributed to the Roman tragic poet, Lucius Accius and later became famous as a saying of the Emperor Caligula.

[216] The club has several notable fans like Welsh rugby union international Gavin Henson,[217] TNA wrestler Rob Terry,[218] Plaid Cymru politician Janet Ryder[219] and Carwyn Jones, the First Minister of Wales.

The Reserve team were formed in 2006 and played friendly matches for two years[225] before eventually being replaced by the Crusaders Colts, as part of a joint-development programme between the club and the Wales Rugby League board.

[233] The move to Wrexham in 2010 coincided with the formation of the South Wales Scorpions, for whom many of the reserve side ended up playing and who maintain strong links with the Crusaders.