McCaw was back in his favourite No 7 jersey in the 34-6 victory over the Lions last weekend, in Matt Todd's absence, but now it's the turn of the All Blacks captain to put his feet up.
Coach Todd Blackadder said it was a decision made by him rather than the All Blacks' coaches.
"It's purely rotation, and that's part of the plan for both Richie and Matt," Blackadder said today.
"We have the luxury of having two really good players. Matt Todd led the team and played all the pre-season games and I could just tell last week he needed a break through his body language.
''He was sore, he had made a lot of tackles, he was picking up a lot of niggles and Richie was probably in the same boat. It's just about freshening those two up."
Israel Dagg strengthens the backline with his return from a thigh injury to the No 15 jersey. Dagg was outstanding in the first half against the Highlanders in round two before he left the field, and he revealed today he took the injury into the match, a 26-20 victory for the Crusaders.
Crusaders team: Israel Dagg, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Nemani Nadolo, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (c), Matt Todd, Jordan Taufua, Sam Whitelock, Luke Romano, Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett. Reserves: Ben Funnell, Joe Moody, Nepo Laulala, Scott Barrett, Luke Whitelock, Mitchell Drummond, Tom Taylor, David Havili.
