McCaw, according to local media, was the first out of the changing sheds at training on Monday, barrelling along at full tilt while the rest of his team mates sauntered onto the field.
The 33-year-old All Blacks captain's eagerness to drive his side to an 11th Super Rugby final undoubtedly has been fuelled by a lack of playing time for a month after he broke a rib during the test series against England.
The eagerness may also have been to highlight to his coaches that he was ready and willing to throw his body into the fray against a formidable Sharks outfit that destroyed the Otago Highlanders up front last week.
"We're going into a semi-final and we've learned from the past that it's fine being available to play," assistant coach Tabai Matson told local reporters. "But we actually need people who are ready to go and be at 100 miles per hour."
The most successful team in Super Rugby, the Crusaders have not won a title since 2008 and the closest they have come to adding an eighth was when they lost the final to the Queensland Reds in 2011 after a brilliant individual try by Will Genia.
BANISHMENT TO AUCKLAND
The Crusaders' one-eyed supporters have been grumbling about the 'drought' - despite the team making at least the semi-finals every season since.
For many, another failure should mean the sack for coach Todd Blackadder. Or worse, banishment to Auckland.
The Crusaders turned in an inexplicable performance against the Sharks in Christchurch during the regular season.
Playing against 14 men for more than 60 minutes of the game after Jean Deysel's red card, and 13 for a period when Willem Alberts was sin-binned in the second half, the Crusaders looked like they had forgotten how to play the game at all let alone how to exploit their numerical advantage.
Matson said the team would analyse that match again in their buildup this week, though former Crusaders stalwart Andrew Mehrtens said he felt the side would need little reminding.
"Frankly, they were embarrassed that night in Christchurch, and this will be a shot at redemption they'll relish," Mehrtens wrote in his column for Fairfax Media.
"They thrive on that challenge, excitement generated by a game with that edge to it.
"The playoffs always brought the best out of Crusaders teams I played in. It was a time of the year we loved, and usually found another level to go to."
World Player of the Year Kieran Read missed that 30-25 loss in May, while the return of world leading points scorer Carter from a six-month sabbatical should also help lift the performance of the home side on Saturday.
Carter did not play for the Crusaders until their third-to-last regular season fixture and is a man on a mission after coming back refreshed, according to team mate Andy Ellis.
"I haven't seen him this committed and excited about this environment," Ellis told Television New Zealand of his former All Blacks colleague, who has slotted into inside centre with Colin Slade at flyhalf.
"He's sacrificed so much. He's not drinking and we know DC loves a beer. He's in the pool after every session, he's stretching, he's in the gym first thing in the morning.
"It's just incredible."
(Reporting by Greg Stutchbury in Wellington; Editing by Ian Ransom)
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