Crusaders tipped to fight fire with fire; Patrick McKendry

The Sharks swept the Highlanders before them in their qualifier by virtue of their powerful scrum but it is an area that the Crusaders, who possess their own heavy artillery, are likely to target in their semifinal.

Jake White's men will know they will be in for a tougher night up front in Christchurch on Saturday than they experienced in Durban last weekend. The Highlanders' pack retreated time and again at Kings Park - a repeat of their faults of a week earlier at AMI Stadium. In the end it is what cost them a place in the semifinals.

The Sharks will be aware of the power that Wyatt Crockett, Owen Franks, Sam Whitelock and Dominic Bird can provide within the framework of a technically excellent set piece, but will still probably back themselves to come out on top. At this stage of the season, and having arrived in a bitterly cold Christchurch at 1am on Tuesday, they only have time for their Plan A.

Much has been said about the power and skill of their hooker, Bismarck du Plessis, but the Crusaders may still believe they can exploit an advantage in the front row.

His brother, Jannie, has a habit of illegally turning in on his loosehead rival, which in this case will be All Black Crockett, a difficult man to scrum against at the best of times. With the "Beast" Tendai Mtawarira unavailable with a neck injury, there will be pressure on the elder du Plessis, a veteran Springbok, to lead the way for the Sharks with a stable platform.

It is a challenge that the genial Crockett will relish, the playoff a repeat of the 2011 qualifier in Nelson which the Crusaders won 36-8 when the 31-year-old marked du Plessis and then sat beside him on the flight to South Africa - the Crusaders heading to Cape Town for their semifinal, which they won, the Sharks heading home with their season over.

Crockett is a player of rare skill for the Crusaders. Very tall for a prop - at 1.93m he is the same height as No 8 Kieran Read - he has ball skills, a high work rate and, perhaps most remarkably, vision. It was his quick thinking in the match against the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in May, when he scored from a quick penalty tap near the line, which opened the floodgates in a 57-29 victory.

Du Plessis, also 31, plays a tighter role for the Sharks - he had what would have been his first Super Rugby try in more than 100 matches ruled out for a double movement against the Highlanders.

After several nights of sub-zero temperatures in Christchurch, the weather is expected to warm slightly in time for the match with an expected overnight high of zero. Those conditions, the sudden death nature of the contest, and the strengths of the two teams, suggest it will be an arm wrestle.

 Bean Brain this will be good test for the twelve Springboks in yr team...

It's the gouda cheese defence that I'd be worried about if I was a Sharks fan...Nadolo and Dagg will have a field day if you don't contain them...the Highlanders exposed some serious deficiencies with the Sharks backline...Steyn will have to be careful who he kicks it to... could this be his last game before he retires???...

There is a theory that the Cell C Sharks are at their best when the Du Plessis brothers are angry, and they were extremely angry on the day that the Durban side destroyed the Waratahs at Growthpoint Kings Park.

Afterwards, following probably the Sharks’ most emphatic performance of the season, director of rugby Jake White spoke about how his men had been motivated by what opposition coach Michael Cheika had been saying to the Sydney media during the build-up week. White had fed his players the necessary information, the gist of it which was that Cheika was saying the Waratahs would boss the Sharks physically.

That was like a red rag to a bull not just for Bismarck and Jannie du Plessis, but also presumably for the rest of the team, for they came out of the tunnel at the start of the game looking like a swarm of angry bees, and then they played like that too.

Cheika is never afraid to provoke people with his mouth, but maybe it backfired on that day, a day in which it needs to be said he didn’t behave like a gentleman either in the coaches box or along the touchline, something that White discussed at the post-match press conference and it prompted an investigation from Sanzar.

If the Sharks end up travelling to Sydney for a Vodacom Super Rugby final next week instead of the Crusaders, Cheika may consider that he played a part in it. For it does appear to have been up to his old tricks by writing off the Sharks’ chances of advancing, a fact which White noted in the quotes sent back from Christchurch for the consumption of the South African public.

White appears to be revelling in his team’s underdog status and being written off, and Cheika has helped fuel that perception.

“The Highlanders’ coach, Jamie Joseph admitted that his team took a lot of motivation out of the fact that people wrote them off all year,” said White.

“The Waratahs’ coach Michael Cheika spoke about wanting to play the Brumbies before the Crusaders, so people are assuming we are just here to make up the numbers and that we aren’t a credible threat. We must be underdogs. History tells you that you’re up against it.

“We had to take the whole day off to recover on Tuesday after the long travel, so it’s not ideal. When you’re the home team in this scenario, you sleep in your own bed, you train at your own facility, and you’re settled. But in saying that, we have a massive amount of belief in our own ability. We are taking a lot of confidence out of the fact that they lost three games at home this year, and that we beat them last time we were here.”

There is no doubt that there is no love lost between White and Cheika, and there should equally be no doubt that the Waratahs coach’s discounting of the Sharks challenge will be used as extra motivation by him in the build-up to Saturday’s clash with the Crusaders in Christchurch. He will want the Du Plessis brothers to be angry, and mention of Cheika can probably make sure they are.

Little doubt poor Todd Blackudder is sending frantic messages to Cheika begging him to please zip it. whata bonehead Cheika must be 

But thanks actually!

Beeno: Cheika is a loud mouth. Every one knows it, he fits in with the brashness of most ozzie culture. I think the sharks will be highly motivated already so a blabber-mouth will not change the level of motivation.

This game will be all about 'mental fitness' - both teams are equally matched so the odds weigh heavily against the Sharks......for obvious reasons - it is a home game for the Crusaders and RM and DC are both playing! 

Psychological advantages favor the Crusaders 

hey rose...hows things been ?

Crusaders to win this one....they will front up and gain parity in the forwards...and there backs have too much class...looking lethal since dan slotted back in....sharks are a strong team and deserve to make the semi finals....but the saders will win by 20+