Crusaders' grumpy old men still benchmark as best forward pack in competition The Reds expect Richie McCaw to return via the bench but admit his inclusion will be a significant boost for the Crusaders. QUEENSLAND'S pack of youngsters insist the ageing Crusaders remain the competition's benchmark forward pack ahead of Saturday's Super Rugby qualifying final in Christchurch. The Crusaders, led by granite-tough All Blacks Richie McCaw and Kieran Read have a peerless record in the southern hemisphere tournament. Seven title wins has made them the most successful province, but several of their key players are on the wrong side of 30. If you throw returning 32-year-old McCaw into the mix with the pack that started last weekend against the Hurricanes, 28 is the average age of the Crusaders forwards. The Reds boast a younger engine room, with only one 30-year-old, prop Greg Holmes, to feature in the likely starting pack against the Crusaders. Backrowers Liam Gill and Ed Quirk both are 21, while Jake Schatz, at 22, has been one of the side's most consistent players in an eight-man unit with an average age of 24. Reserves Radike Samo, 37, and Ed O'Donoghue, 31, raise the average but Queensland relies mostly on a bunch of Generation X-ers. The Reds expect McCaw to return via the bench after his sabbatical from Super Rugby but are not prepared poke the bears across the Tasman by labelling the New Zealand captain and his mates as over the hill. "He's one of the best players in the world and has been for the past decade," Gill said. Rob Simmons, who is set to be reunited with second-row partner James Horwill on Saturday, was equally generous in his praise of the red and black forwards. They've got a lot of big game players. They've been there and done it many times before," the 24-year-old said. It's a world class forward pack and we have to match them for physicality and fitness. The Reds might be young but they are certainly not green. Horwill leads a cohort of talented players who have been hardened by the experience of some high pressure moments in recent seasons. Even without injured quartet Digby Ioane (knee) Rod Davies (knee), Anthony Faingaa (hamstring) and James Hanson (neck), the expected 22 to face the Crusaders includes 12 players who featured in the winning 2011 final. Gill was just 19 when he came off the bench on that cool July evening at Suncorp Stadium and has noted the wealth of young, but experienced, players the Reds have to choose from. "Now we've built a franchise of players can play under pressure, and play on a big stage," the flanker said. We understand how huge that will be (on Saturday) and we're ready for it. I look forward to the big games. Prop James Slipper, who has an 80 per cent winning record as a stand-in captain, said he was happy to hand the leadership back to Horwill who missed the win against the Waratahs due to a calf injury.