AS SOON as Tah Man leapt several metres out of a Black Hawk helicopter onto the middle of the Sydney Football Stadium, breaking his fall with a forward roll, you just knew this was going to be a special night.

The Waratahs must have been watching this spectacular entrance on the television screens in their dressing room, because several minutes later they ran out also believing they were superhuman. It was no bluff: they then produced easily their best performance of a bizarre season.

Since February, the Waratahs have been boring, inconsistent, sometimes stodgy, sometimes enlightening, but most importantly they have kept on winning.

On Saturday night, they rose to a level that was required, producing numerous faultless sequences of play to indicate their trip to Christchurch this week may be more than an excuse to earn extra frequent-flyer points. If they can replicate what they did against the Sharks, they could actually threaten the Crusaders. Honest.

It all revolves around commitment. It is one thing to act tough; it is another to be tough. But the Waratahs were just that. Their zeal in wanting to be dominant in every tackle soon saw the Sharks surrender.

Every member of the NSW pack was belligerent and produced classic semi-final tackles. You can excuse newcomers like the youngest man on the field, Rob Horne, from shying off. But like everyone else in the superior Waratahs defensive line, he was primed.

Horne's willingness to dominate his opposite number, Adrian Jacobs, in a first-half tackle was a critical moment, because it led to the Waratahs' first try and deflated the Sharks at exactly the right time.

Jacobs had little idea what hit him in the 26th minute, and it wasn't surprising the ball he was carrying was suddenly bouncing around in no man's land until Lote Tuqiri sped in, scooped up and skipped away.

Other lesser-knowns in the Waratahs line-up played similarly important roles. Second-rower Dean Mumm is sometimes overlooked. But Mumm's ability to disrupt the Sharks lineout by grabbing several of their throws, as well as his aggression in midfield that included several charges made him my man of the match.

A Wallabies squad berth beckons for Mumm, as it does for halfback Luke Burgess, who again enlivened the Waratahs' play with his bravado.

Burgess's input has been critical in revitalising NSW, and after underplaying his hand early on, he knew when to pounce in the second half.

A traditional Sharks' move - the No.8 peeling off the scrum on the blindside to offload to his halfback - became a moment of embarrassment when Burgess intercepted the ball to score the try that ended any hope of an opposition revival.

So the pre-final vibrations are encouraging. The only concern is kicking.

First goalkicking. Kurtley Beale again struggled - missing five of his seven attempts. Some were hard, but several were easy, and in finals missed points turn games. This Super 14 final will definitely prove whether Beale has the big-game temperament, especially if a match-defining kick is involved.

Then there is positional kicking. Too many Waratahs teams, in fact too many teams, have headed to Christchurch believing they can out-kick their opponents. Instead, they give the best counter-attacking side in the competition ample opportunities to charge back at them. Giving possession to the Crusaders is a flawed tactic.

Let's hope the Waratahs learnt enough from the semi-final to believe in the value of keeping the ball in hand, hurting their opponents in the midfield, waiting for overlaps and seizing half-opportunities.

If they do that, the Waratahs are in with a fair chance of winning their first Super 14 title.