It will be the dance of the desperates in Christchurch on Saturday night and stand-in Crusaders captain George Whitelock says sticking to the system is the key to coming out on top.
The Crusaders, who sit in ninth position on the Super 15 ladder, host the winless Highlanders in Christchurch this Saturday night.
In the past couple of years, this clash has been a fight between two top sides.
But Saturday night is more about getting a win of any description for either team.
Everyone knows the story about the Highlanders - seven games and still to taste victory.
The Crusaders have also had their share of disappointments this season. They have won three games and are fresh off a three-week tour where they lost two of their three games, including an upset 16-14 loss to the Western Force in Perth last Saturday night.
The Christchurch-based side is back home now and keen to get its game right against the Highlanders in the first meeting between the sides, in a match that matters, this season.
''They are going to be giving everything. Throwing 110% at us. While they are really desperate, then so are we,'' Whitelock said.
''So it is going to be interesting and at times the match is going to get ugly. But it is going to be one of those games that the team which sticks to the team plan will probably win. There is going to be so much pressure on individuals to try and go and do their own thing. But to do that may be costly,'' Whitelock said.
The Crusaders have travelled far and wide in the opening rounds of the Super 15 and have played only two games at home so far.
''It's always good to be back at home. You can't beat sleeping in your own bed. We have been on the road a lot in the first seven rounds. But we know it is the same for everyone. It just all depends on how you approach it.''
The Crusaders are the most successful side at the level so ninth is unfamiliar territory for them.
Whitelock was disappointed with two aspects of the past two matches, which both ended in defeat.
''Against the Sharks, we missed four kickable penalties and then we gave away far too many penalties and Patrick Lambie did not miss. Then, against the Force, our handling let us down.
''We went over there and got a good gutsy win against the Stormers and then I thought we sort of relaxed a bit after that.''
He said fixing those errors this Saturday night came down to individual players preparing correctly and concentrating in the match.
Whitelock, who started his first-class career in Otago having been schooled in Manawatu, said he was enjoying the captaincy and had had plenty of experience leading Canterbury for three seasons.
But the Crusaders are a different level and the absence of key men Dan Carter (hamstring injury) and Richie McCaw (sabbatical) this Saturday will make things tougher for Whitelock.
Kieran Read has missed the past month because of a toe injury and is a long shot to play.
Whitelock said the side had to get on with things minus the star trio.
''Obviously, we are disappointed that we are not going to have them around. But we need to prove we can do it without them. We just need to do it consistently and put it together. We can't use the excuse of not having them.''
Flanker Shane Christie is also out with a rib injury, so the loose forward stocks of the side are thinning.
