For the Highlanders, Saturday's southern derby against the Crusaders will probably add to an already humiliating Super 14 rugby record.

It sounds like the "same old, same old" - bold talk pre-match from the team and "if only" in the match analysis.

Spare a thought for coach Glenn Moore though.

Like the majority in his team, Moore's been a new kid on the block, a first-time coach at Super level who was also restricted to selecting home-grown or locally based players after numerous defections to overseas clubs.

The best he could do to obtain players from outside the franchise area was resorting to the draft - a list of players excess to other franchise needs.

Without experience in key positions, the Highlanders were always going to struggle in the competition this season.

Moore got on with the job, rebuilding the team from near scratch and he believes he now has a squad capable of bettering their record next season.

Though they lost 10 of their 12 matches before their final game of the season in Christchurch on Saturday, the only ones they lost by significant margins were to the Chiefs (24-39) and Bulls (17-47). The others have been by 10 points or fewer and in most cases through poor goalkicking or giving up points late in the matches.

Most rugby experts have blamed inexperience for their close losses.

"I've still got a lot of belief in these young players and I think we'll see the benefits from them in future," Moore told NZPA.

"Part of the learning process and part of the experience process is learning how to win some of those close games, how to get in front and shut them (opponents) down."

Moore said their 31-28 win over the Cheetahs at Bloemfontein with 13 men on the field was evident of the progress they had made.

"We showed some maturity in that game.

"I think we're seeing real development in the likes of Clint Newland and Jamie Mackintosh in the front row, (winger) Fetu'u Vainikolo had an excellent campaign for a rookie and obviously (flanker) Adam Thomson has come on and developed really nicely."

Moore hopes to retain most in his squad, including draft players who, he says, would be better off playing for his side rather than getting sporadic game time as a third or fourth ranked player in another franchise.

"Once the campaign is finished we do a complete review of the whole situation and I'm sure we'll have a mentality of lifting every stone and having a look underneath it, go through that process and then make a call."

With that in mind they don't intend to take the foot off the accelerator against the table-topping Crusaders who approach the game from the other end of the Super 14 spectre.

Having secured top place and with it home advantage for the finals, the Robbie Deans coached side are expected to start preparing for the playoffs in the match.

"It's still an absolutely important game for us," Moore said.

"They're the top side in the competition. We'd like to win one of these games, we want to play well and finish the season well."

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