The Brumbies face one of the toughest tasks of their season when they fly to New Zealand to play the seven-time champion Crusaders on Saturday night.

It's made even more daunting by the return of All Blacks great Richie McCaw in a star-studded Crusaders' forward pack.

But Gregan - who was part of the Brumbies' only two triumphs against the Crusaders in New Zealand - was adamant last season's grand finalists were ready to end a 14-year drought.

The Brumbies are playing their first game in Christchurch since 2010 and have only beaten the Crusaders twice at home - in 1996 and 2000 - in Super Rugby history.

''Playing away from home is hard. But it's do-able,'' Gregan said.

''The Brumbies have some mental steel, they've shown that and they'll need every bit of it when they play the Crusaders.

''But they're the games good teams want to be in, they want to be in the contest. It's a challenge and sets the Brumbies up to see where they are,'' he said.

''If you're a fair dinkum team you want to be in these games.''

The teams share a rich history, clashing in three grand finals in five years. The Crusaders won two titles before the Brumbies got their revenge in 2004.

Despite their unimpressive record against the Crusaders, the Brumbies boast an impressive trans-Tasman win-loss ratio over the past five games.

They have won four of their past five matches in New Zealand, only losing the grand final to the Waikato Chiefs.

The horrible record against the Crusaders means little for the new generation of Brumbies.

Most have never played in Christchurch and are adamant they will not be haunted by the past.

Back-rower Jarrad Butler, who is on the verge of signing a new deal with the Brumbies, is preparing for a nightmare battle against two of the world's best flankers.

McCaw has recovered from a fractured thumb and is set to move to blindside flanker to form a formidable duo with Matt Todd at the breakdown.

It's an unenviable task for Butler, who has been thrust into the Brumbies' No. 7 duties in superstar David Pocock's injury-forced absence.

''It's exciting, Richie McCaw is one of the best flankers to play rugby. I see it as a privilege,'' Butler said.

''We've spoken about [the 14-year drought] and we understand this is a big opportunity to get that milestone.

''If you want to win premierships, you have to be able to tick all of the boxes and say you've done everything. You don't want to leave any stone unturned,'' he said.

''I grew up in Wellington, so I wasn't fond [of the Crusaders] but I liked their style of rugby and I look forward to trying to counteract it.''

The Brumbies beat the Crusaders in Christchurch in a regular season match in 2000.

But the Crusaders got their revenge when they beat the Brumbies in the Super Rugby final three weeks later.

Gregan was at training with the Brumbies on Tuesday as part of his halves consultant role.

''The Crusaders are polished ... they find their rhythm and play well at the right end of the season,'' Gregan said.

''This is a young Brumbies group, they learn quickly and love a challenge, this is as good as it gets.''

Gregan has been impressed with Nic White and Matt Toomua's progression and said their combination could help their scrum-half/flyhalf transition to the Wallabies.

''You build a sense of where that person is on the field and how they move,'' Gregan said.

''You can't replicate that in a short period of time. Matt and Nic have really developed over a couple of years ... at Test level, combination does help.''

THE CRUSADERS CURSE IN NEW ZEALAND

1996: Brumbies 29 bt Crusaders 7

1998: Crusaders 38 bt Brumbies 26

2000: Brumbies 17 bt Crusaders 12

2002: Crusaders 33 bt Brumbies 32

2004: Crusaders 47 bt Brumbies 28

2006: Crusaders 33 bt Brumbies 3

2008: Crusaders 34 bt Brumbies 3

2010: Crusaders 40 bt Brumbies 22

2011: Crusaders 52 bt Brumbies 10