Justin Marshall: Crusaders' sets bar as teams hit the gas

The Crusaders' Colin Slade gets the ball away against the Highlanders. Photo / Getty Images

What was pleasing about Super Rugby over the past weekend was the noticeable lift in skill level and intensity, and that was exemplified by the Crusaders.

There was a bit of first-round syndrome last week - nobody really made a statement apart from the Brumbies - but in round two other teams lifted their intensity level so we got better quality rugby and better tempo rugby.

The Crusaders are a very proud franchise and their success is from personal pride in performance. I know, having been part of the team for 10 years, that the culture of the Crusaders is all about consistency of performance and work ethic.

That wasn't existent when they lost to the Rebels. In sport you're going to win some and you're going to lose some but, if you lose, you make sure you lose with dignity, and that's through attitude and performance.

After Saturday's game against the Highlanders, I spent a good hour in the bar having a cold beer with Todd Blackadder, Aaron Mauger and some senior players. They were thrilled with the win but Toddy told me last week he didn't get any sleep, because performances like that are stressful.

This week Toddy had a smile on his face and all of those guys were satisfied because they had lifted their attitude. You could see it in their body language both during the game and afterwards - they knew they had gone out there and played the way they should play as Crusaders.

The Chiefs would have also been thrilled they managed to piece together a really good win. Losing the likes of Sam Cane and Sonny Bill Williams before the game can be a little disruptive, and the Brumbies came to play.

If the Brumbies had been a little more selective about some of their options - they turned down a lot of shots at goal - they could have been in a really good position. Scoreboard pressure is as important as in-game pressure.

It took the Chiefs 80 minutes to win the game and that was a little fortuitous, but I'm not implying that they didn't deserve to win.

So the stage is set for this weekend. The Chiefs-Crusaders game will indicate whether both teams can rise to the levels of top-six contenders.

I think the Chiefs have already shown they once again have that winning culture and the Crusaders have lifted their tempo.

For this type of match-up you need your big stars all firing and the Crusaders will need to be at full-strength to go to Hamilton and win, though they are still capable of causing an upset if the Chiefs have an average day.

But, for me, the biggest game of the weekend is the Blues.

Their season could slide into catastrophe if they drop a third game in a row so early.

They need to get out there and get a win somehow. It doesn't have to be glamorous, a one-pointer will do, but they need a win desperately.