Reds coach Ewan McKenzie was impressed by the Crusaders' dominant semifinal performance and admitted that it will be a major challenge to beat them for the second time this season and claim the Super Rugby title. 'That was just pure Quade' | More news

McKenzie has first-hand experience of how dangerous the team from Canterbury can be once it comes to the business-end of the competition, his Waratahs team lost finals to them in 2005 and 2008, and he said that their display at Newlands on Saturday confirmed their status as big-game specialists.

He told the Sydney Morning Herald: "They're just a ruthless side and we saw that [against the Stormers] … it was a ruthless display. They are big-game performers and I thought they played a brilliant game.

"They’ve got all aspects of the game covered. Their scrum was brilliant, the goal kicking …. all that sort of stuff you need in big games. It was all on song," he added.

The Reds coach knows that his side will have to be on point if they are to walk away with the silverware against a Crusaders outfit that has got some considerable momentum going in recent weeks.

He said: "They've timed their run perfectly and it will make for a great occasion. You can hope they have a bad night but you have to be able to beat them at their best and that's the challenge I'm looking forward to.

"I've made the point all along that the teams that get to the end are the teams that can attack and defend well - the Crusaders are one team and I think we've shown that. The Stormers have a had a great season, particularly in defence, but they struggled to breach the line against the Crusaders," he added.

The last time the sides met the Crusaders looked to have a tight victory sewn up in Brisbane but a controversial late penalty awarded by referee Stuart Dickinson and kicked by Quade Cooper meant a heart-breaking 17-16 defeat for the visitors who will be keen to set things straight and claim an eighth Super Rugby title this weekend.

Much has been made of all of the extra travelling the Crusaders have had to do this season and how it will impact their performance but McKenzie believes that it is more of a positive than a negative for them.

"As much as they’ve had to travel, you get a lot of benefit from a team perspective – you spend a lot of time together," he explained.

McKenzie said that he was not worried about his players losing focus this week in the build-up to the big decider.

"I don't spend any time worrying about that side of it. They're a tight group and they don't get ahead of themselves. There's going to be excitement about a first grand final but they're pretty good at getting back to the business of training," he said.

The Reds will have close to a full strength team for the Final, with no injuries sustained in their semifinal win over the Blues. Radike Samo left the field after getting a knock on the head but he has been cleared to play.