Coming off a disappointing loss to the Sharks at the weekend, the Crusaders will have a disjointed week before Saturday's game, which assistant coach Dave Hewett said was shaping up as a key match.
The Crusaders have 10 players at the All Blacks training camp.
''You only have to look at the southern rivalry which has been around since I was playing to realise that it is a big match,'' Hewett said.
''Then when you look at the competition, the Highlanders are still right in the hunt, and from our perspective we are still right in the hunt. Then you've got the All Black camp, when a few of the guys are together and that gives them a chance to test each other and tease each other about the game.''
The Highlanders are fifth on the competition ladder, while the Crusaders are right behind them in sixth, trailing by two points.
Hewett said having 10 players away for the start of the week at an All Blacks training camp impacted on preparations but it was just part of the season. If it meant the national side was better prepared for its season then the franchise was happy to accommodate the needs of the All Black management.
The only injury concern was loose forward Jordan Taufua, who was still recovering from injuries he sustained when he was stomped on by Sharks loose forward Jean Deysel.
Hewett said the Crusaders did not want to dwell too much on the loss to the Sharks, when they could not put away a side which was short-handed for the majority of the game.
''We have to do our due diligence on that game and see what went wrong. But it was just one of those ones - a bit of an anomaly. We have dealt with it and we are now focusing on the Highlanders game.''
Hewett said the Highlanders had impressed this season but that was what he thought would happen.
''Knowing the calibre of players that they have and the coaching team, it is not entirely unexpected they have performed they way they have. The coaching staff have managed to get the best out of the players.''
Both sides have only five games left and will play each other twice. The return match is in Christchurch on July 12, the final round of the competition.
Hewett said it was just a quirk of the draw that the teams would play each other twice in the next five weeks.
''From our point of view, we have five games left and we want to win them all. We have a break in June for the tests, so that is a bit of a momentum-stopper, but we want to be right in the mix.''
