No team can match the Crusaders for playoff experience - or even get close. But while the men from Christchurch were once almost invincible in knockout games, they have slowly lost the art of winning in recent years.
Those who habitually think of the Crusaders as the most likely winner when there's little to separate the remaining teams should maybe reconsider.
They are a good bet to beat the Lions - partly because their record at Ellis Park is good and also because they still know how to win early-round knockout games.
But, specifically, they have lost the art of winning seminfials and finals and haven't beaten a New Zealand side in a playoff game since 2008.
In the first era of Super Rugby between 1996 and 2010, when the competition was a straightforward roundrobin with the top four qualifying for the semifinals, the Crusaders were like the German football team. They would find a way to win - home or away, it didn't matter, the chances were high that the Crusaders would bring the right mix of graft, intuition, creativity and level-headedness.
In that first phase they played 21 playoff games - a remarkable statistic in itself as the maximum they possibly could have played was 30. Of those 21 games, they won 16 - which included seven finals, two of which were away from home. They lost two other finals in 2003 and 2004 and didn't lose in a semifinal until 2009.
But the picture changed when the competition shifted to a conference format in 2011. The Crusaders continued the art of qualifying for the finals - their only blip being last year - but became less likely to win once they got there.
They haven't won a title since 2008 and a playoff winning record that sat at 70 per cent between 1996 and 2010 has dropped to 55 per cent between 2011 and 2015.
Bad luck has been a factor and explains some of the transition. The earthquake which devastated Christchurch in 2011 left them homeless and their effort in reaching the final that year was miraculous. It was, possibly, one game too far, though, and they couldn't muster the energy they needed to beat a good Reds side in a sticky Brisbane.
In 2014 they were denied the title by a bad refereeing decision. Craig Joubert would later ring the Crusaders to apologise for penalising Richie McCaw in the last minute - a decision that allowed Bernard Foley to kick the three points the Waratahs needed to claim their maiden title.
In 2012 and 2013 they were simply outclassed by the Chiefs in Hamilton - a story that has become all too familiar in the last five years, particularly so in 2016 as all of the Crusaders' defeats have been inflicted by New Zealand teams.
That's the worry for them - when it comes to the biggest games against the best teams, they no longer bring the right mix or find a way to win. They have lost the perception of infallibility under pressure and the confidence with which the Hurricanes played in Christchurch last week conveyed their conviction they had nothing to fear.
If New Zealand has a new playoff supremo, it is possibly the Highlanders. They haven't had the same exposure to knockout football as the Crusaders but they have won three of the four games they have played since 2011.
The Highlanders case isn't so much built on numbers though. What gives them an aura is the way they tactically adapted through the playoffs last year, stayed so composed and lifted their game to a higher level in three consecutive games.
This year they have shown a similar ability against the toughest opponents. Last week against the Chiefs they scrambled on defence, held tough for long periods and then pounced when they had barely half a chance.
It brought them their sixth straight win against the Chiefs and a quarter-final clash with the Brumbies which assistant coach Tony Brown said they have been looking forward to since last year.
"Our boys love playing play-off games. As far as the playoffs, we've been working towards this since December so we can't wait to go and have a good crack at going back-to-back," Brown said.
- Gregor Paul
