Crusaders must get steps in order if they don't want to be wallflowers

Colin Slade of the Crusaders makes a break during the round 13 Super Rugby match between the Crusaders and the Reds at AMI Stadium. Photo / Getty Images

For more than a decade the Crusaders had a chokehold on the Waratahs.

The tournament monarchs would look at the Tahs, yell boo and they'd keel over. It was one of the reliable storylines. Every season the Sydney media would pump up the Tahs who'd find a method to puncture that hype.

For 11 straight seasons the Crusaders picked up their victories against the Tahs. Then last year something happened.

The Tahs found an edge as feisty new coach Michael Cheika put together a squad with a backbone and an ability to work through the hard times and fight for victories.

Cheika got them fit, he put them through more pre-season work than previous coaches and noted those who coped with that type of physical torture. Then he matched up those whose skills also held up under battle fatigue.

Super Rugby, he noted, was a long-haul series where teams succeeded if they had players whose character allowed them to cope with extended pressure. Euphoria about solitary victories was wasted elation, that delight would be extra special if it came in the playoffs.

There were glitches but Cheika's message started to permeate his squad. He'd applaud and bark in the same sentence if that's what it took. Players knew where they stood. Cheika drew up his demands and asked his squad to sign on to those requests.

The Waratahs got the business done and held their nerve to win the final against the Crusaders and erase an 11-match hoodoo. They got home by a solitary point when Bernard Foley kicked a final-minute controversial penalty. They'd done it, they'd beaten their nemesis and the competition masthead.

They meet again tonight where things have altered a fair bit.

Both teams have struggled this season while Cheika has been forced to balance his Waratahs work with the Wallaby portfolio he inherited after the ARU's late-season meltdowns.

The Crusaders have to win the rest of their games to guarantee a place in the playoffs and the Waratahs need to win tonight to nudge ahead of the bye-cast Brumbies in their pool.

There are a few subtle differences. A year ago Israel Dagg started at fullback and Richie McCaw at No 6 while the Colin Slade/Daniel Carter axis was used then in the five eighths.

Massive lock Will Skelton was not yet a regular starter for the Tahs who had also lost skipper Dave Dennis to a serious knee injury.

History pointed strongly to another Crusaders title. They'd only lost twice to the Waratahs since the birth of Super Rugby. This was an occasion for the champs to exert that dominance.

Two became three defeats for the Crusaders and this season they have spluttered. Eyes on the big prize at the end of the year, ageing frames, inferior tactics, a drop in levels and a passing of the baton?

The Hurricanes have cleared out in the NZ conference and unless the Crusaders get their game in order they will be watching others go to the finals dance.