Scrum of the Earth /

It's showdown time for Robbie Deans and Ewan McKenzie as home advantage paid dividends for the Crusaders and the Waratahs in the Super 14 semi-finals as they set up a mouth-watering clash in Christchurch.

Crusaders 33-22 Hurricanes

Such was the dominance of the rampant Crusaders, the open-minded Hurricanes spent 90% of the first-half on the back foot.

It was like a monsoon with wave upon wave of Crusaders attack fended off through desperation rather than structure.

Despite all the brave backs against the walls stuff, Leon MacDonald scored either side of half-time to all but seal a home final.

The Hurricanes went ahead against the run of play but once the Crusaders rediscovered their sweeping free-flowing brand of rugby that had deserted them in recent weeks, it was curtains for the 'Canes with Richie McCaw and Kieran Read turning over ball for fun.

Waratahs 28-13 Sharks

While there was only 18,000 in Christchurch, a sold out Sydney Football Stadium dismissed the woeful Sharks, bringing Dick Muir's memorable reign to a forgettable finale.

Unlike South Africa's composure in winning the Rugby World Cup, the Sharks coughed up multiples of errors with Francois Steyn creating his own sporting bloomer by allowing Lote Tuquri to pounce after spilling the ball for one of the Aussies four tries.

Seeing as McKenzie was giving his marching orders earlier in the season because they didn't play enough attacking rugby, the 'Tahs haven't done a bad job scoring tries as easily as Gordon Brown loses votes.