Nowhere to hide in Brisbane
The Sharks know that they will have to "get everything right" if they are to knock the defending champion Reds out in Brisbane on Saturday.
The Queensland side have won 21 of their last 23 games at fortress Suncorp Stadium, and having won their last six consecutive games just to qualify for the play-offs they will be full of confidence when the Sharks arrive on Saturday.
Sharks assistant coach Grant Bashford understands the size of the challenge facing his team, but added that having beaten the Reds in Durban earlier in the season his side also head into the match with a fair amount of confidence.
He said: "They're the defending champions, a championship side that know how to win this tournament. And at home they'll have huge support, we'll certainly have our hands full but it's a challenge the boys are looking forward to.
"We played them in Durban in the pool stages and had the upper hand in that game [winning 27-22 in Round Four] so we have the belief that we can do it, it's just about getting our act together and getting it right on the day," he added.
Bashford pointed out that both sides have hit their straps towards the end of the season after overcoming some injury-induced hardships, which should make for an intense clash.
"Like us, they had a lot of players injured at the start of the tournament, and as their key players have come back, they've gained some rhythm and flow and confidence in the way they've played," he said.
The Sharks backline mentor said that his side will have to harness the considerable momentum they have built up in recent weeks in order to secure themselves a spot in the semifinals.
He commented: "A lot of our key players like Willem Alberts, Beast Mtawarira and Ryan Kankowski have all come back from injury and are all playing well, so we're certainly in a better position now than we were earlier in the tournament.
"We know that if we play well, we can beat any side in the tournament and I think we showed that in our games against the Stormers and Bulls.
"The real trick for us is replicating those kinds of performances. We have the players to do it, it's just getting ourselves organised and getting ready for the game. And if we get everything right and play the way we know we can play, we have a very good chance of continuing in this tournament," he said.
