Sharks impossible road trip

 some interesting facts; the first being that no team has won the title after finishing outside the top two after the league. Now in the 2004-2011 format that would surely have changed at some point, but since the added Wildcard round, questions surface over its credibility.

Sharks boss Jake White rounded on this in his column for The Citizen, asking: "Why play these matches at all if they have little or no chance of making it through to the final?" which is a fair point. Really, and no disrespect to them, but with the tough travel factor is anyone backing the Highlanders to win (again) in Durban, catch a long back to Sydney to beat the 'Tahs and then fully recover to also triumph in an away final?

Therein lies the question of can any team finishing outside the top two, in a day and age where home advantage is so vital, actually win the trophy? Again the numbers highlight the difficulties facing the likes of the Chiefs and Highlanders, given that in 36 play-off matches in the last decade only five have been won by the away side. That's an 86 percent success rate for the hosts, while 8 out of 10 sides who finished as league winners went on to win the title, with only the Bulls winning a final on the road, albeit not far from home, at the Sharks.

White added: "If this ( game between third to sixth in the standings) is purely a money-making device, surely it would be preferable for the teams that finish one and two to go straight to a final. They could play home and away so they would both have to travel."

But as the former Springbok coach touched upon, this extra round is of course a money spinner for the competition. Yet with the glass half full, why shouldn't those franchises who finished in fifth and sixth place have a crack at what on paper is looking like the impossible. Naturally the Chiefs, Highlanders and also the Sharks and Brumbies who travel into this full of optimism, but history and statistics are very much against them.

Super Rugby play-offs since 2004

2004: Three home wins in knockouts - Brumbies won title after finishing top of table
2005: Three home wins in knockouts - Crusaders won title after finishing top of table
2006: Three home wins in knockouts - Crusaders won title after finishing top of table
2007: Two home wins, one away in knockouts - Bulls won title after finishing second
2008: Three home wins - Crusaders won title after finishing top in regular-season
2009: Three home wins - Bulls won title after finishing top in regular-season
2010: Three home wins - Bulls won title after finishing top in regular-season

2011 (new format): Four home wins, one away - Reds won title after finishing top of table
2012: Three home wins, two away - Chiefs won title after finishing second but hosted final
2013: Four home wins, one away - Chiefs won title after finishing top in regular-season.

White was confident that teams did not need to finish first or second to guarantee themselves an opportunity to win the competition. After all, he took the Brumbies to last year’s final on the back of a third-place log finish while the Sharks reached the 2012 final even though they finished sixth.

"Everyone assumes that if you finish third in the competition going into the play-offs, you have got absolutely no chance; you may as well call off the competition when the teams finish first and second," White said.

"This team has won the conference, they have 46 points and still have a chance of getting a home semifinal but if it doesn’t happen, it’s only the first year. Everybody is so negative about the fact that ‘gee, they can’t win the competition anymore’. I still think we have a massive chance of winning this competition and I still believe we can."

The former Springbok coach expects a stronger challenge from the Crusaders, who have been bolstered by the inclusion of All Blacks Kieran Read, Dan Carter, Israel Dagg, Matt Todd and Dominic Bird in recent weeks.

"But in saying that we beat them last year in Durban and this year in Christchurch," added White.

"So in reality this group of players have won home and away and I'm sure we're looking forward to playing knock-out rugby again this weekend where the winner takes all."

White said his side's aim is to play to their strengths with their forwards hoping to repeat the dominant display which paved the way to victory over the Highlanders in their play-off last weekend.

"We're very dominant and orientated in our set piece, but we would like to believe there is more to our game," he explained.

"But knockout rugby is about playing to your strengths. The Crusaders are one of the most conservative teams but they are consistently the best of all five New Zealand franchises."

The Sharks used their infamous strangling tactics to squeeze out a victory against the odds in Christchurch the last time these teams met, and with Pat Lambie back to complement Frans Steyn, the hosts know that offering opportunities to kick for goal or for territory will be fatal.

"We have spoken about that all week," Read toldstuff.co.nz

"They kick a lot of penalties and on the back of penalties they get field position with their line-out drives as well. I know it is going to be be a big test for us not to give them any free 'outs' there.

"We don't want to be giving away cheap penalties, really. We want to give nothing away to them because if we do he (Steyn) will just knock them over and keep the scoreboard ticking.

"I'm certainly expecting them to keep to their strengths which is their scrum, their line-out maul and knocking over penalties. I don't think too much will change.

"Hopefully if we have the conditions to suit us we will be able to play a bit of footy."