Preview for a tumultuous Super Rugby showdown between the Crusaders and the Sharks on Sat

Tomorrow morning’s tumultuous Super Rugby showdown between the Crusaders and the Sharks (9.35am) has all the fiery ingredients to make it one of the classic semi-finals. It is going to be brutal, uncompromising and a teeth-clenching arm wrestle from first whistle to last.

At least that is how the Sharks are going to be play it, and the talk from the Crusaders camp has been that they will go toe-to-toe with the respected Sharks pack, and if they get parity at least up front, their phenomenal backs could prove the difference between the sides.

The Sharks have made no secret of their intentions to smash the Crusaders up front and then strangle the life out of the seven-time champions by denying the ball to champion athletes in Dan Carter, Israel Dagg et al. Coach Jake White has assembled an enormous pack, picking bulldozer Willem Alberts at lock and bringing in bruising Jean Deysel to start on the flank.

The front row has been in savage form and the youngster Thomas du Toit (loosehead prop) has combined so well with the Du Plessis brothers that there has been almost no talk of the loss to injury of Beast Mtawarira.

The Sharks pack has also been boosted by the return from injury of the red hot lock Stephan Lewies, who has not only taken more lineout ball than any other forward in the competition but also heads the list of “most steals.”

Combining with Deysel in the loose trio is arguably the form flank in South African rugby, Marcell Coetzee, while at No 8 Ryan Kankowski is showing signs of rediscovering the attributes that made him a Springbok.

It is an exceptional pack of forwards and how they are contained by the Crusaders is the key to the match. Behind the Sharks pack, Patrick Lambie has been restored to the No 10 jersey, with Frans Steyn shifting back to inside centre, Paul Jordaan moving to 13 and with JP Pietersen back on the wing, S’buru Sithole is unluckly to lose out. Lwazi Mvovo is the other wing.

It is a Sharks team that will believe that lightening can strike twice and they can repeat their victory in Christchurch two months ago. By the same token, the Crusaders will be “once bitten twice shy” and they will play at a different level this time around.

It is a good thing that the Sharks believe they can win because almost nobody else does.

In the last 11 seasons of Super Rugby, only three teams have managed to win a semi-final away from home and the Sharks are one of them, when they beat the Stormers in Cape Town in 2012. The other two are the Crusaders (against the Stormers in Cape Town in 2011) and the Brumbies (against the Bulls in Pretoria last year).

Going back further, the Natal Sharks won a famous victory over the Reds in Brisbane in 1996, putting 44 points past a Queensland team that was packed with Wallabies, and led by John Eales.

South African teams going east for playoffs in Australia or New Zealand have struggled in the past, winning only two out of 16 of these matches, although both wins were by the Sharks, funnily enough.

Aussie and Kiwi teams have the same problem when they visit South Africa for playoff games, having won only three from 10. Combining those statistics, the total winning percentage for teams crossing the Indian Ocean for knock-out matches is just 19%, or five out of 26.

A more telling statistic is that no South African team has won a play-off game in New Zealand in nine attempts.

Jake White, the eternal optimist, reckons these damning records are actually a positive thing because it means it is time they were broken, and his Sharks teams is the one to do it.

“One day a travelling team is going to win a semi-final in New Zealand, it has to eventually happen and we honestly believe we have the firepower to do it,” White said.

And firepower is what it is going to be all about for the Sharks, and the exchanges up front are going to be so bone-crunching that many a viewer might soon find him or herself reaching for something stronger to imbibe than a cup of coffee…

Crusaders: Israel Dagg, Kieron Fonotia, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Nemani Nadolo, Colin Slade, Andy Ellis, Kieran Read (captain), Matt Todd, Richie McCaw, Samuel Whitelock, Dominic Bird, Owen Franks, Corey Flynn, Wyatt Crockett.

Replacements: Ben Funnell, Joe Moody, Nepo Laulala, Jimmy Tupou, Jordan Taufua, Willi Heinz, Tom Taylor, Johnny McNicholl.

Sharks: SP Marais, JP Pietersen, Paul Jordaan, Frans Steyn, Lwazi Mvovo, Pat Lambie, Cobus Reinach, Ryan Kankowski, Jean Deysel, Marcell Coetzee, Stephan Lewies, Willem Alberts, Jannie du Plessis, Bismarck du Plessis (captain), Thomas du Toit.

Replacements: Kyle Cooper, Dale Chadwick, Lourens Adriaanse, Ettienne Oosthuizen, Tera Mtembu, Charl McLeod, S’bura Sithole, Tonderai Chavhanga.

By Mike Greenaway