Richard Loe: Crusaders need time to bed in

I don't think it would be a wise idea to write the Crusaders off, but there has to be some concern that they are not quite the team they once were.

If you look at the most successful Crusaders sides of yesteryear, they had about 10 to 12 past or present All Blacks. There was depth and experience across the team.

That's not the case now - they have lost a lot of experience and quality and don't have the same ability through the team anymore. Just looking at the front-row alone, they have lost Corey Flynn and Greg Somerville from last year.

They have a good enough second row and two excellent flankers, but, from No 8 out, they are not in the same class of old.

Thomas Waldrom came down from Wellington where he couldn't get a game and Kahn Foutuali'i struggled with Tasman last year.

Colin Slade was found out on Friday night against the Hurricanes but I guess a lot of people would move out of the way when faced with 102kg of Ma'a Nonu coming at you like that so I don't want to be unkind.

Casey Laulala has scored a lot of tries but he can be there one week and not the next and Stephen Brett is also someone who tends to blow hot and cold. Their two wings don't have a lot of experience and are still finding their way at this level.

Tim Bateman is the pick of the backline.

It is not that they are a bad side, it is just a reality that it is going to take them a few years to build the depth, experience and understanding they had of old.

The coaching team are going to have to spend a lot of time keeping the players confident and full of belief. I would imagine that the Crusaders will win more games than they lose but I don't see them being the dominant force of old.

I'm not sure that moving Brett to first five will necessarily change things too much either. Like Slade, Brett can be exposed on defence and has a tendency to make little mistakes that can have a major impact - like coughing the ball up, or chip-kicking out of defence.

When Leon MacDonald recovers, it might be worth having a go with Brett at No 10 but I wouldn't expect him to perform miracles.

As for the Hurricanes, I'm still to be convinced they can maintain their form all the way through. They have the depth and they have it in the positions they need it. It's a pretty good place to be in when you can take John Schwalger off and replace him with Neemia Tialata as they did at AMI Stadium.

But in the past they have been let down by some of their senior players who don't perform at the highest level when they need to.

We know, because we saw it on Friday, that they can play devastating rugby.

But we also know, as we saw when they played the Highlanders the week before, that they can be pretty ordinary. I have learned not to expect too much from them.