Crusaders coach Scott Robertson will need to evaluate his returning All Blacks next week.

It's that time of the year again - the time when Super Rugby teams attempt to re-ignite a flame extinguished by the ill-timed international window.

Good luck finding anyone keen on the annual interruption, particularly Crusaders fans accustomed to watching their All Black-laden team fade after the break.

Thursday's "friendly" against the Highlanders in Timaru should go some way to helping the table-topping (14-0) Crusaders build up some steam ahead of their all-important game against the Hurricanes in Wellington next weekend.

KAI SCHWOERER/GETTY IMAGES Wing Jone Macilai is set to play for the Crusaders for the first time this season on Thursday.

First-year coach Scott Robertson will then have to manage his squad, which will welcome back 12 players - some no doubt sapped from a heavy workload - involved in the three-test series against the British and Irish Lions.

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"I had a good look at the review from the players and their thoughts from last year and the last couple of years and thought what we could do better," Robertson said when discussing the break, which was introduced in 2012 and crippled the franchise as recently as last year.

GETTY IMAGES Crusaders wing Digby Ioane will return from a finger injury in Timaru on Thursday.

Under former coach Todd Blackadder, last year's Crusaders also stormed into the international window looking down at the rest of the competition.

However, losses to the Chiefs and Hurricanes either side of a win against the Rebels resulted in them plummeting to seventh place. A week later, they were hammered by the Lions in their Johannesburg quarterfinal.

Due to the on-going Lions tour, the break could be even trickier to overcome this year because Kiwi teams have just one regular-season match to play before the sudden death games kickoff.

KAI SCHWOERER/GETTY IMAGES Loose forward Jordan Taufua, who used the two-week break to rest his battered body, will captain the Crusaders against the Highlanders on Thursday.

"We've tried to get the balance of the rugby right, get the energy levels back, get the excitement back," Robertson said.

"Then it's a little bit of wait and see. We've got a lot of players in the All Blacks that are playing some big time footy and there is a lot of expectation on them. We'll see how they come out of the last test, see where their energy levels are and then select a team [for Hurricanes]."

Captain Sam Whitelock and front rowers Owen Franks, Joe Moody and Codie Taylor are most likely to need monitoring when they re-join the team next week, while No 8 and All Blacks captain Kieran Read should be primed for the business end of the season after an injury riddled year has reduced his workload.

"You can only play so many games in a row... there's a point where you reach your peak," Robertson said. "We've just got to get our balance right and that's obviously what our planning is around."

Getting it right will go a long way to beating the Hurricanes and securing the top seed and home advantage throughout the playoffs. Lose and they will finish second, unless the Sharks can beat the Lions next Sunday morning.

The most worrying injury hanging over the Crusaders is Ryan Crotty's bung hamstring, which he tweaked in the first half of the opening test against the Lions.

Robertson called the midfielder's status day-to-day, but said he was "tracking well" ahead of Saturday week's game against the Hurricanes.

First-five eighth Richie Mo'unga will sit out Thursday's hit out with a calf niggle, but he is expected to be back next weekend.

Robertson welcomes back wings Digby Ioane (finger) and Jone Macilai (knee) from injury, with Macilai set to wear the red and black jersey for the first time this year on Thursday.

The Crusaders had two weeks off after their loss to the British and Irish Lions, which Robertson said had only given the team more of an edge.

Players such as loose forward Jordan Taufua, who will captain the team on Thursday, used the break to rest his battered body, before the team resumed training last week and had an internal hit out to get back up to speed.

"You've just got to keep that little bit of toughness in you. Otherwise you have three weeks off and jump into the ring and it makes it pretty tough. We're ready," Robertson said.

AT A GLANCE

Crusaders: David Havili, Manasa Mataele, Seta Tamanivalu, Sean Wainui, George Bridge, Mitchell Hunt, Mitchell Drummond, Jordan Taufua (c), Jed Brown, Heiden Bedwell-Curtis, Mitchell Dunshea, Quinten Strange, Michael Alaalatoa, Ben Funnell, Tim Perry. Reserves: Andrew Makalio, Chris Gawler, Oliver Jager, Jonno Osbourne, Shannon Frizell, Bryn Hall, Marty McKenzie, Braydon Ennor, Jone Macilai, Vernon Fredericks, Digby Ioane.

Highlanders: Josh Ioane, Gavin Stark, Sio Tomkinson, Rob Thompson, Tevita Li, Fletcher Smith, Kayne Hammington, Luke Whitelock, James Lentjes, Gareth Evans, Jackson Hemopo, Tom Franklin, Siate Tokolahi, Ash Dixon, Daniel Lienert-Brown. Reserves: Greg Pleasants-Tate, Flynn Thomas, Aki Seiuli, Craig Millar, Guy Millar, Alex Ainley, Joe Wheeler, Elliot Dixon, Adam Knight, Dan Pryor, Josh Renton, Liam Howley, Tei Walden, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Jona Nareki.

Where: Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru

Kickoff: 3pm