MANY pundits believe the Crusaders can repeat their feat of 2002 and go through the season undefeated.

For this consistently successful team, it might be getting hard to find meaningful targets beyond winning the competition itself. This year's squad, motivated by the impending departure of Robbie Deans, will be looking to make 2008 a special year.

Much has been said about the game last week, when the Western Force let a 24-12 lead slip to a 29-24 loss.

Solace for the Force comes in the form of two bonus points, but I reckon John Mitchell will see it as an opportunity lost. In fact, many of the Crusaders' opponents experience the same sensation. I heard lots of talk about the game being attractive, but that's not going to help Mitchell's hollow feeling at letting slip a handsome lead against the tournament favourites.

The week before, the Crusaders put the Stormers to the sword in Cape Town in a tradesman-like performance that included three tries and no bonus points. Lots of colour and movement in the game, but the Crusaders were always going to win.

If you missed the Crusaders' round-two clash against the Bulls but saw the result (54-19 Crusaders), you might have got the wrong impression. The Bulls dominated the game for 30 minutes. An observer would never have picked the final score having seen the Bulls' application, aggression and discipline. The Crusaders were unable to get into the game. In the last 10 minutes of the first half, there were literally two chances in the Bulls' defensive zone, and the Crusaders took both to even the match.

Deans acknowledged the work of the Bulls, but also the work of his own team. He did this again after the come-from-behind result against the Force, and his comments give you a clue as to their psyche and their success.

Deans credited the Force with "anticipated strategies" that were still effective, and mentioned "grief caused around the contact area" in terms of slow ball and stymied attack. But the Crusaders still won the game. Deans praised his team for wrestling the initiative back and sticking to the task.

Captain Richie McCaw said that at half-time, the Crusaders were disappointed with their start. But once again they recovered their poise to come good in the end. And the end of the game is what it's all about against the Crusaders.

The contest has always been about playing for 80 minutes. Clearly, Deans's team knows how to do this. Last year, when the Waratahs went down 33-34 to the Crusaders, we had a shot at goal right in front to win and we missed.

You need to have all your mental and skill faculties right on the night to beat this mob, and that's why next week's game presents a terrific challenge. Initiative, aggression, composure, dominance, sticking to the task - you need to do it all better and for longer.

Despite the new laws, the keys to winning tough are inevitably character, discipline and belief.