The last time the Crusaders and Sharks met was the historic Twickenham Super Rugby match in London and the Crusaders won 44-28.
The Crusaders have been through a lot since then but as they did back in March the Crusaders will play this match without captain Richie McCaw.
However Sean Maitland who scored two of the Crusaders five tries in that match will be back this week.
Super 15 live
Crusaders rugby
Looking at the stats the Sharks have a pretty appalling record against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders have played the Sharks 15 times and won on 13 occasions for a winning percentage of 86.7%. On average when the Crusaders play the Sharks they score 33 points and the Sharks score 23.
In New Zealand the Crusaders have played the Sharks 9 times and won all nine. The closest the Sharks came to beating the Crusaders in New Zealand was in 2006 when the hosts moved the match to Timaru and the Sharks lost 22-20.
When the Crusaders play the Sharks in New Zealand they score 36 points on average and the Sharks score 22 points.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Crusaders have never lost a home fi nal or semi-final. They have won 16 of their 21 playoff matches for an amazing winning percentage of 76%, with all five their defeats in this stage of the season coming away from home.
These five defeats include three semi-finals in South Africa against the Bulls (2007, 2009 and 2010), as well as two finals - once against the Brumbies in Canberra (2004) and once against the Blues in Auckland (2003).
In addition a South African Super Rugby team has never won a play off match in New Zealand. At the same time, the Sharks will have to win only their second playoff
match away from Durban. Since 1996 they've played in nine playoffs, winning three.
The Sharks have dropped Ryan Kankowski for this match which sounds like a mistake until you see that he has been replaced by Willem Alberts. The team that beat the Bulls last week has largely been retained with Patrick Lambie at fullback, Terblanche at centre and Michalak at ten.
Whilst that combination worked extremely well for the Sharks and they hit form against the Bulls it is was only one match and we don't know if they can play like that again. It was clearly the Sharks best performance of the season.
Since then the Sharks have had to travel 11,000 and an ash cloud had the Sharks worrying if they would get to New Zealand at all. Hardly ideal preparations.
The Crusaders have been able to name Sean Maitland on the wing which gives the Crusaders options on both sides as Zac Guildford has been in excellent form of late.
The Crusaders have also been given a boost as Sonny Bill Williams is back for this clash and one of his best games all season was against the Sharks in London. Aside from Dagg the backline is all first choice players and Kahn Fotuali'i is also named on the bench.
The Bookies have given the Sharks a 14 point start for this match - with an offer of Bet 10 and Get 20 in Bets. The lack of home advantage for the Sharks coupled with the travel factor should work too much in the Crusaders favour. Crusaders to win by 16.
The Crusaders have been through a lot since then but as they did back in March the Crusaders will play this match without captain Richie McCaw.
However Sean Maitland who scored two of the Crusaders five tries in that match will be back this week.
Super 15 live
Crusaders rugby
Looking at the stats the Sharks have a pretty appalling record against the Crusaders.
The Crusaders have played the Sharks 15 times and won on 13 occasions for a winning percentage of 86.7%. On average when the Crusaders play the Sharks they score 33 points and the Sharks score 23.
In New Zealand the Crusaders have played the Sharks 9 times and won all nine. The closest the Sharks came to beating the Crusaders in New Zealand was in 2006 when the hosts moved the match to Timaru and the Sharks lost 22-20.
When the Crusaders play the Sharks in New Zealand they score 36 points on average and the Sharks score 22 points.
Making matters worse is the fact that the Crusaders have never lost a home fi nal or semi-final. They have won 16 of their 21 playoff matches for an amazing winning percentage of 76%, with all five their defeats in this stage of the season coming away from home.
These five defeats include three semi-finals in South Africa against the Bulls (2007, 2009 and 2010), as well as two finals - once against the Brumbies in Canberra (2004) and once against the Blues in Auckland (2003).
In addition a South African Super Rugby team has never won a play off match in New Zealand. At the same time, the Sharks will have to win only their second playoff
match away from Durban. Since 1996 they've played in nine playoffs, winning three.
The Sharks have dropped Ryan Kankowski for this match which sounds like a mistake until you see that he has been replaced by Willem Alberts. The team that beat the Bulls last week has largely been retained with Patrick Lambie at fullback, Terblanche at centre and Michalak at ten.
Whilst that combination worked extremely well for the Sharks and they hit form against the Bulls it is was only one match and we don't know if they can play like that again. It was clearly the Sharks best performance of the season.
Since then the Sharks have had to travel 11,000 and an ash cloud had the Sharks worrying if they would get to New Zealand at all. Hardly ideal preparations.
The Crusaders have been able to name Sean Maitland on the wing which gives the Crusaders options on both sides as Zac Guildford has been in excellent form of late.
The Crusaders have also been given a boost as Sonny Bill Williams is back for this clash and one of his best games all season was against the Sharks in London. Aside from Dagg the backline is all first choice players and Kahn Fotuali'i is also named on the bench.
The Bookies have given the Sharks a 14 point start for this match - with an offer of Bet 10 and Get 20 in Bets. The lack of home advantage for the Sharks coupled with the travel factor should work too much in the Crusaders favour. Crusaders to win by 16.
