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Michael Hooper’s Waratahs have just one Super Rugby target – finish on top of the Australian Conference and automatically qualify for the final series.
The alternative to finish in the top eight is fraught with danger.
Tonight there couldn’t be a better litmus test than a clash with Super Rugby’s benchmark, the Crusaders. The Waratahs haven’t won away from home in this fixture for 12 years.
In the 20 years of Super Rugby, the Crusaders have won seven titles and been runner-up four times, well ahead of the second-best Brumbies with two titles and four seconds.
And it’s the Brumbies who the Waratahs must beat to top the Conference. As it sits, the Waratahs lead by a point with a game in hand, and the Brumbies are on a bye this weekend, giving the Waratahs the golden opportunity to jump well clear.
How the Waratahs fare with playmaker Kurtley Beale out for the season is a key question.
Every Waratah interviewed since Beale lasted just 40 seconds last week before he was carted off to undergo serious knee surgery has made the point that losing him is a massive blow.
Not only will his outstanding ability be missed, but his very presence is a positive on and off the field – that’s the Beale way.
It was a major plus that the Waratahs overcame the loss last week against the Bulls at Allianz to win 31-8, picking up a precious try bonus point in the process.
Even though the Crusaders are a far better outfit than the Bulls, and more dangerous at home, the Waratahs are well equipped.
The forward battle sees the Waratahs with 565 Super Rugby caps, slightly more experienced than the Crusaders with 550. The Waratahs are better off with 915 kilograms in their pack, compared to the Crusaders’ 880.
The battle of the locks will be telling with Will Skelton and the underrated Dave Dennis doing battle with Sam Whitelock and Luke Romano, while the skippers Hooper and Kieran Read will both be very destructive for the entire 80 minutes.
Among the backs, the Crusaders’ long-serving halfback Andrew Ellis will chalk up his 150th appearance, and his clash with the in-form Nick Phipps with 92 caps will go a long way towards deciding the result.
Overall in the backs the Crusaders have 385 Super Rugby caps compared to the Waratahs’ 333, but the Crusaders haven’t got an Israel Folau, who is set for a timely big game.
The Waratahs have the more experienced bench with 427 caps to 310 that includes Wycliff Palu’s 130, and the Crusaders prop Wyatt Crockett with 154.
This could well be the one of the season’s best with both teams keen to have a crack.
For mine, the Waratahs in a tight one.