Forget the past 18 weeks.
This is it - knockout Super footy. When referee Chris Pollock starts play tonight at Eden Park, the Blues and Waratahs will be 80 minutes away - barring extra time - from acclaim or reproach.
Victory will bring more training and travel, defeat will deliver postmortems, headaches and inquiries about how best to bounce back for the 2012 season.
This is sudden death, the close of the debut chapter of the extended series for one of these sides, the Super 15 full stop for the departing Joe Rokocoko, Jared Payne, Luke McAlister, Stephen Brett and John Afoa from the Blues or Phil Waugh, Al Baxter, Luke Burgess, Pat O'Connor and Soseni Anesi from the Tahs.
"We have a lot of guys leaving but we don't want this to be their last match. We want to kick on and give them a really strong farewell," Blues hard man Jerome Kaino said.
Kaino and tonight's centurion Afoa are the only surviving Blues players who started in their most recent semifinal, the unsuccessful away trip to the Sharks in 2007.
"That was some time ago and travelling away to Africa took a great deal out of us," Kaino said. "We are at home for this and being able to prepare in our own environment gives us a lot of confidence. You can detect a lot of excited body language."
Coach Pat Lam and his staff seemed more on edge, trying to cover every possibility from injury to extra time. Some of that frailty showed yesterday when they refused to allow a New Zealand Herald photographer into Eden Park to take a shot of their final training session.
Forecast wet weather should not affect the Blues, who have been accustomed to those conditions in recent weeks.
Waratahs' coach Chris Hickey bemoaned the injury rate in his side and certainly the late halfback exit of Luke Burgess is a big hit, although the Blues could point to similar ill-fortune with a swag of senior players absent.
The Tahs' loss of front-rowers Tatafu Polota-Nau and Al Baxter should be a signal for the Blues to start their attack up front.
Super 15 qualifiers
Blues v Waratahs
Blues: Jared Payne, Joe Rokocoko, Benson Stanley, Luke McAlister, Lachie Munro, Stephen Brett, Alby Mathewson, Peter Saili, Luke Braid, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Anthony Boric, John Afoa, Keven Mealamu (captain), Charlie Faumuina. Reserves: Tom McCartney, Tevita Mailau, Chris Lowrey, Daniel Braidt, Chris Smylie, Winston Stanley, Sherwin Stowers.
Waratahs: Lachie Turner, Atieli Pakalani, Ryan Cross, Tom Carter, Sosene Anesi, Kurtley Beale, Josh Holmes, Dave Dennis, Phil Waugh (captain), Dean Mumm, Sitaleki Timani, Kane Douglas, Paddy Ryan, John Ulugia, Benn Robinson. Reserves: Elvis Taione, Jeremy Tilse, Pat O'Connor, Chris Alcock, Hugh Perrett, Brendan McKibbin, Bernard Foley.
