Having thrashed the Kings 57-24 at AMI Stadium, the Crusaders head to South Africa determined to prove they are not flat-track bullies.
The Crusaders also claimed the bonus point as they raced in eight tries against the South Africans in Christchurch, combining some brutal defence - and watching men like Owen Franks and Luke Romano slam their bodies into opponents accentuated their enthusiasm in this facet - with movements involving sweet passes in contact, eager counter-attacks and an ability to expose the Kings frail midfield.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder and his crew are scheduled to fly to Durban on Sunday morning, to prepare for their next match against the Sharks, and there was further good news in the fact that they didn't suffer any injuries. Openside flanker Matt Todd, in his game back from a calf injury, was replaced at halftime to keep him fresh for the Sharks match.
Blackadder took a calculated gamble by resting All Blacks Kieran Read, Joe Moody, Codie Taylor and Andy Ellis, and also emptied his whole bench by the 70th minute mark. He had little reason to regret the strategy and he was suitably impressed by the performance of No 8 Jimmy Tupou who started in place of the high-profile Read.
"I thought he (Tupou) was outstanding, absolutely outstanding," Blackadder said. "We have seen it in his rugby all year - he hasn't played there in a while (at No 8) but he was outstanding tonight."
The Kings, bless them, did their best.
But the reality is they are not ready for Super Rugby and that they can expect to continually get pumped this season.
It was a shame that one of their best forwards, loosehead prop Schalk Ferreira, was forced-off with injury early and it was also a measure of their frustration when one of most determined operators, flanker Chris Cloete, was yellow carded for a professional foul in the dying minutes.
No, this wasn't a complete performance by the Crusaders, but it would be churlish to nitpick too much following such a comprehensive victory. Blackadder may aim to tweak his pack's technique when defending lineout drives, an area where the Kings put them under heat.
"I felt at times we were hit-squatting and it was staying down and trying to stop their lineout drives. It is a good prelude to the next two weeks, we are going to have some big South African forward packs and it is really just a drive-off, isn't it, and we just have to get better at it."
Some of those lateral movements, the pass-catch, pass-catch efforts was predictable, but when you have such powerful men like left wing Nemani Nadolo out wide, and centre Kieron Fonotia in such regal form, it makes sense to get them involved.
At halftime Kings coach Deon Davids gave his team a rocket. Standing like an evangelistic preacher at the pulpit, Davids, no doubt frustrated that his side had conceded four tries before the break, delivered a mighty spray as he repeatedly jabbed his index finger at his troops.
Alas, it was to no avail. He must have felt like tearing-up that speech when he settled on his nest back in the coach's box.
Even though the Crusaders conceded a penalty from the kick-off, they soon had the Kings writhing on the rack as they used soft hands, swift passing in contact and powerful body positioning to score tries to Richie Mo'unga and Mitchell Drummond.
And what would a Super Rugby match be these days if it didn't involve another controversial decision by the television match official?
The key contributors to the latest mind-bending mystery were Crusaders left wing Nadolo, referee William Houston and TMO Chris Wratt.
Nadolo, having collected possession at a ruck in the 32nd minute, dug his monstrous flippers into the turf and launched his considerable frame toward the tryline; he looked to have grounded the ball short of the line, but Houston elected to defer to the TMO and asked for a reason why the five-pointer shouldn't be awarded.
Sky TV commentator Tony Johnson spoke for everyone when he muttered: "He can't award that, surely?" Wrong: Wratt gave it and Nadolo was awarded his second try.
That's Super Rugby. No-one seems to have an answer to this issue.
Crusaders 57 (Nemani Nadolo 2, Johnny McNicholl, Ben Funnell, Richie Mo'unga, Mitchell Drummond, Jone Macilai, Pete Samu tries; Mo'unga 4 con, pen; Volavola 3 con) Kings 24 (Luzuko Vulindu, Edgar Marutlulle, Chris Cloete tries; Louis Fouche 3 con, pen). HT: 29-10.