Crusaders flanker Richie McCaw says captain Reuben Thorne answered his All Blacks critics over his leadership skills when the 14-man side beat the Stormers.
The Crusaders 24-9 win over the Stormers showed the home side have character in abundance as they recovered from losing No 8 Mose Tuiali'i midway through the first half and muscled out the South Africans.
After a disappointing World Cup Thorne had faced criticism for his captaincy failing to inspire the All Blacks in their semi-final defeat to Australia.
But his All Black back-row partner McCaw says Thorne's calming influence and leadership made the difference in what has been an impressive season for both players and their team.
"I think the way he played was good in itself, but his leadership against the Stormers was outstanding. If he had got at all anxious, he didn't show it and his calm under pressure really helped the team," McCaw told ONE Sport.
"He has been outstanding for the Crusaders this season and I think he answered his World Cup critics.
"We were all pretty happy to get the win, the Stormers really came at us, but we toughed it out and showed a bit of determination.
"I realised we just had to get on with it (after the sending off), there was no reason why we couldn't beat them and it only made us more determined. There was a need for the team to show character and I think we did that.
"Across the board everyone stepped up and showed what it means to play in the Crusaders jersey. Everyone put their hands up from the starting team to the reserves that came on."
The Crusaders now turn their attention to face Hurricanes in Wellington on Friday night as they prepare for a Super 12 semi-final berth and McCaw is wary of facing an underachieving side, especially with the topsy-turvy nature of this year's Super 12.
"They'll be playing for a lot of pride," he said, "we want a good performance and in the last few weeks we haven't played a good eighty minutes.
"Plus there has never been an easy game between Wellington and Canterbury, whether that is in the Super 12 or the NPC and this game will be no different.
"I enjoy the challenge of the Wellington-Canterbury games, I had one of my first experiences against them a few years."
There will be plenty of All Blacks loose-forwards on show between the Crusaders and the 'Canes with Rodney So'oialo and Jerry Collins waiting with a warm Wellington welcome.
"He's a tough customer,' McCaw said of Collins, "he runs hard and I have a lot of respect for him, Rodney So'oialo has also been going well for them, if you look across the whole Hurricanes team, you wonder how they are so far down the table and they are waiting to give someone a hiding, we just have to make sure it's not us."
McCaw has been one of the few All Blacks this season to demand inclusion through their form for Graham Henry's first squad to face England next month, but the 23-year-old still has plenty in his game he wants to work on.
"I was reasonably happy with my form at the start of the season, but not as much recently and I am always looking to better my game."
While there has been precious little contact between the new All Blacks coach and the young Crusaders open side, you can bet that the name McCaw will be one of the first on Henry's team sheet when England arrive.
There are four changes to the Crusaders team for Friday night's game. Sam Broomhall comes in at No 8 for the suspended Mose Tuiali'I and Jamie Nutbrown replaces Justin Marshall, who is struggling with a hip injury at halfback.
Also Ben Blair replaces Scott Hamilton at fullback and Aaron Mauger is injured and replaced by Casey Laulala.
The Crusaders: 15. Ben Blair, 14. Marika Vunibaka, 13. Casey Laulala, 12. Daniel Carter, 11. Caleb Ralph, 10. Cameron McIntyre, 9. Jamie Nutbrown, 8. Sam Broomhall, 7. Richie McCaw, 6. Reuben Thorne, 5. Chris Jack, 4. Brad Thorn, 3. Greg Somerville, 2. Tone Kopelani, 1. David Hewett. Reserves: Corey Flynn, Chris King, Ross Filipo, Scott Waldrom, Corey Tamou, Andrew Mehrtens, Tony Koonwaiyou
