Motivating his men by forcing them to view the galling 30-25 loss to the Sharks on May 17 in Christchurch isn't on Todd Blackadder's task sheet.
The Sharks' 31-27 win over the Highlanders in Durban yesterday means they confront the Crusaders in Saturday night's Super Rugby semifinal at AMI Stadium, and the South Africans' memories of their upset win two months ago also provides a major psychological boost ahead of their return.
Despite Jean Deysel being dismissed for stomping Jordan Taufua in the first half, and later being reduced to 13 men when Willem Alberts was yellow carded, the Sharks' tryline wasn't breached when their numbers were reduced in their previous encounter.
Blackadder's face was white with anger immediately after that round-robin loss but when reminded about it yesterday he was more sanguine.
'One lesson we learned was that if the attitude's not right it doesn't matter what you do,' he said.
'And the other one was that we basically got sucked into playing their game where they put-up a lot of contestables (high kicks) - and we were doing the same back and we didn't really take any of our opportunities to counter-attack.'
Blackadder ticked off several other points: His side's set pieces were poor and they didn't show enough awareness in backing their attack with superior numbers on the grass.
Using that dud performance, which allowed the Sharks to celebrate props' Jannie du Plessis and Beast Mtawarira's 100 games, as motivation wouldn't be added to the players' tip sheets.
'Even though it was disappointing, things move on very quickly in Super Rugby. It's more about us performing to our very best. I don't think it's about righting the wrongs of the past.'
The Sharks are scheduled to arrive in Christchurch late tonight and will stay at the Clearwater Resort.
The Crusaders were without captain Kieran Read (concussion), Dan Carter (sabbatical) and Israel Dagg (patella tendon injury) for the match but Richie McCaw started. Ryan Crotty captained the side.
While impressed by the Highlanders' high-tempo attack against the Sharks, Blackadder would be reluctant to use a similar game plan for the semi.
Following a slow start, which allowed the Sharks to take a 10-0 lead, the Highlanders exploded into action; they attempted to run the Sharks off their feet, attacking from the deep, repeatedly offloading the ball in tackle and taking quick throw-ins.
'That is the Highlanders' strength and in finals rugby you have to play to them,' Blackadder noted.
'One thing we have got much better at is our set-piece and our strikes. Our conversion is a lot better in the score-zone now and in recent weeks we have added another weapon in our lineout drives.
'I think we have the all-round capability to be able to play a different game against the Sharks but, first of all, the attitude has got to be right.'
The Highlanders' scrums were decimated on several occasions and a defensive feed on their own line resulted in Sharks hooker Bismarck du Plessis scoring a crucial try.
With the Chiefs also losing to the Brumbies in Canberra, the Crusaders are the only New Zealand side to remain in title contention and this will be their first semi at home since the competition was extended to 15 teams in 2011.
