Travel
Right, you hop on a plane and then some two days later you finally arrive at your hotel in Durban. No matter how many advances have been made in medicine, the Highlanders have still been sitting on a plane, in that uncomfortable rarified hot air, in the same seat, for way too many hours. It takes days to recover. And most long-haul passengers are not forced to get on a rugby paddock and face 15 massive South Africans.
Crowd
King's Park, or whatever it is called these days, is a great place to watch rugby as the crowd is close to the ground. But for the opposition, all that means is they face a crowd which will be right behind the home team and very much against the visiting side. Although the crowd cannot score points or make breaks, the home team on the field can feed off its energy. The Sharks have not played at home for more than six weeks, so the people in the stand have had plenty of time to get their voices up to full volume.
Front row
Tendai Mtawarira, Bismarck du Plessis and Jannie du Plessis. Hardly the three Stooges. The Sharks front-rowers know how to muscle in on any weakness and will be keen to give the Highlanders scrum a tough test. The du Plessis brothers do not know how to back down and have plenty of miles left in the tank after a lighter workload of late. Mtawarira has been under an injury cloud recently but will be all beast if he fronts.
Form
To be honest, neither team is coming into this game with runs on the board. They both qualified for the finals but, from the past six games, the two teams have a combined record of two wins and four losses. The Sharks had disappointing losses to the Stormers and Cheetahs, and last weekend beat a Stormers team which appeared to have other things on its mind. The Highlanders beat the Chiefs but had hefty defeats to the Waratahs and the Crusaders. Neither side appears to be in the best form - and both need to find it again quickly.
Revenge
The Sharks looked as though they were heading to be top qualifiers when they played their last game at home in late April, before heading on their overseas jaunt. It was against the Highlanders and appeared to be a win for the taking. But the Highlanders were inspired that night and the Sharks were awful as the visiting side won 34-18. Both sides will be watching the tape of that game. One will be out to replicate it and the other will be seeking revenge for it.
History
The Highlanders have won only one of their five knockout games at Super rugby level so will not want to look back for inspiration. The Sharks did not make the playoffs last year but made the playoffs in 2012 and 2011, getting to the final in 2012. So they have some history there. But this is a new season, a new year. And the Highlanders can find solace in the fact their only playoff game in South Africa ended in a victory for them.
Referee
Sorry, but it has to be said. It is the elephant in the room. Steve Walsh and the Highlanders. Two wins from 22 games. We'll leave it there.
