Reds 11 Waratahs 18
The Waratahs believe the difficult three-match road trip that ended their season and produced a home semi-final against the Sharks has battle-hardened the team for finals football.
After their 18-11 win over the Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday night, captain Phil Waugh likened his side's preparation for the finals to England's path to the World Cup decider last year.
England had to defeat both Samoa and Tonga in the last two matches of the pool round to qualify for their famous quarter-final clash with Australia.
NSW have faced similar do-or-die pressure in the last three rounds. After losing to the Bulls 13-16 in Pretoria and drawing 13-13 with the Stormers in Cape Town, they had to defeat the Reds to secure a spot in the top four.
"We realised [our] last three games were going to be really tough going into the finals," Waugh said. "We worked really hard for the three points we got in South Africa and we knew it was win at all costs [against the Reds], otherwise we were out. [It was about] hanging in there, playing well under pressure.
"In a way, we have already played two weeks of finals football because if we lost we were out. England, leading into the World Cup quarter-final had already played two sudden-death games. That hardened them. And those tough games in the last couple of weeks should harden us as a unit."
After the weekend's results, the Waratahs finished second on 43 points to earn a home semi-final against the Sharks, who defeated the Chiefs 47-25 in Durban.
"We are by no means happy with the way we are playing," Waugh said. "We can play a lot better and we will need to play a lot better if we are going to give this tournament a shake."
Of all their potential semi-final opponents before the weekend's results, playing the Sharks at home is the best outcome for NSW.
The Shark's win in Durban salvaged a season that saw them slip to sixth on the table after an excellent beginning. That slide included a 25-10 loss to the Waratahs on April 26.
The Sharks will now have to muster all their resources for another long-haul trip to Sydney. And coach Ewen McKenzie is sure their recent loss to NSW will still be fresh in their minds.
"It does help. It [the last game] is still pretty clear in my mind. But all these psychological elements come in play," McKenzie said.
"You can't help but remember the last time you were there. All that stuff is out there. But at the same token, they will be sitting down and going, 'This is a one off … we are in good form', and all that business.
"But that is the beauty of a home semi-final, [the hosts] have less of those thoughts and emotions."
Even though McKenzie likes to consider the team as a whole when assessing an opposition's weaknesses and strengths, he will pay special attention to Sharks superboot Francois Steyn in the build-up to the semi-final.
The Sharks pivot was one of a number of players who did not play against the Chiefs through injury. But McKenzie is keenly aware of the damage he can wreck in sudden-death football, where points on the board rather than accruing bonus points through tries scored is the aim of the game.
"His long-range kicking is an issue. [With] the ability to kick from 60 metres out, you can just kick all day rather than have to secure four tries," McKenzie said. "It changes the dynamics a bit."
