Having conceded daunting starts, Moana Pasifika is aware that opposing sides will attempt to probe what they see as a weakness.
Coach Tana Umaga said, "They'll challenge us and see if they can get in and get up early on us as all teams have seen now, it'll come in chunks.
"So, we have to be better than that manually."
Umaga said some of his players will be exposed to playing the Crusaders at home for the first time, which would be a mental test.
"We can train in the gym as much as we want, we can train on the field but once you get out there and the pressure starts to come on, not just from the other team but internally, and it is about educating our players around how to handle that."
Having captain and loose forward Ardie Savea back playing will be a boost. He creates more intensity when training with the side.
"When we believe in our game and we can implement that, we can be competitive, but if we have any doubts, and any part of the machine doesn't work, then it makes it a hard day."
Reviewing their loss to the Chiefs, he said the scrum did not work as wanted, and a lot of work has gone into that this week because of how strong the Crusaders are in their set-piece play.
Umaga said when the side concedes tries, some of their players go individually.
"They start thinking about what they can do better and want to make a difference. But we need to come together and have one plan.
"We've talked about that, and our leaders have taken that on board. They've got to step up and bring everyone together. The encouraging thing is that this team has shown a lot of spirit and fightback. But we don't want to give such big leads. We can be better than that, and we've just got to show it.
"We talk about keeping things simple for ourselves because that's when we're doing our best. I'm a big believer that the basics down well will get you what you want."
Savea said attention has been focused on their starts.
"We've started the majority of our games poorly. I'm encouraging the guys to reflect on where they're at, and come the first whistle, we need to be on fire and not waiting until we concede points.
"It's about having that mindset from the get-go."
Playing the Crusaders in Christchurch was the most challenging task in Super Rugby because they have the champion mentality with quality players and coaches, and they operate out of a fortress.
"But it's something where we can go there and test ourselves and them as well.
"They'll be reviewing our games, looking for opportunities, our strengths, and they'll be prepared for us.
"We need to go out there, stick to our strengths but also be aware of their threats and try to nullify them – win the set piece and win the collisions."