It is the first of a fascinating and unpredictable doubleheader that night, with the second-placed New South Wales Waratahs to host the Sharks in Sydney immediately afterwards.

Those two teams have at least displayed semifinal form of late, something that could not be said of the Crusaders, whose form has slipped noticeably in the last month.

A dismal 14-26 loss to the Highlanders in Christchurch last night was the new low in a season that shows signs of imploding.

It was an even more inept display than their final regular season match last year against the Chiefs, a 24-30 home defeat that was followed a week later by a crushing loss in the semifinal to the Bulls.

The parallel was drawn by Crusaders captain Richie McCaw moments after his team's first loss to the Highlanders in eight meetings.

"We don't want to be like last year where we limp into the semis and then don't front up," he said.

"I'm sure we'll have a good week's training and hopefully we front up here next Saturday."

His team were badly exposed at the breakdown by their more urgent southern neighbours while the backline badly lacked direction, starting with a hesitant display at first five-eighth from Daniel Carter and continuing through their relatively young outside division.

Departing coach Robbie Deans is sure to reinstate Casey Laulala at centre against the robust Hurricanes backs while also returning lively flanker Kieran Read.

The Hurricanes will have emerged from the weekend mentally exhausted following a 17-19 loss to the Blues on Friday which threatened to drop them from second to outside the playoff zone.

They were passed by the Waratahs, 18-11 winners over the Queensland Reds, and the Sharks, 47-25 victors over the Chiefs.

Fortunately for them the Stormers could not snare a bonus point in their 22-13 win over the lowly Lions in Johannesburg this morning (NZT), meaning the South Africans finished fifth courtesy of an inferior points differential.

A place below them in sixth were the Blues, who ended the season with the sort of quality performance that highlighted the competition's opening weeks.

The intense encounter at Auckland's Eden Park at least proved a suitable farewell for several departing players such as captain Troy Flavell and playmakers Nick Evans and Isa Nacewa, along with coach David Nucifora.

The injury-depleted Chiefs were always going to struggle both physically against the Sharks and on the motivation front.

While the hosts had a semifinal place as their driving force, the Chiefs only had pride at stake and the chance to pick up a win on what has proven a disastrous three-week trip to end a season that had promised much.

They closed to within three points soon after halftime but eventually leaked seven tries in a defeat that left them seventh, their worst return since 2003.

The Highlanders finished 11th, the lowest placed New Zealand team for a fifth successive season, but they were alone in having something to smile about in the final weekend.

Their stunning dissection of the Crusaders should be enough to silence the voices that spasmodically question the worth of the southern franchise.

It was also the perfect farewell for departing captain Craig Newby.

For the fourth consecutive year, teams from New Zealand tallied the most combined points in the final standings.

The five New Zealand franchises averaged 37.1 points on the table, while the four Australian teams averaged 31.0 and the five South African outfits 27.1.

While the South Africans could not match their 2007 achievement of hosting both semifinals, the Sharks look strong candidates following a rampant performance against the Chiefs at Durban.

Star No 8 Ryan Kankowski galloped over for two tries as the South Africans discovered the attacking flair missing for much of this season.

The question will be whether they can overcome a well drilled Waratahs side, who have conceded more than 20 points in a game just once this season.

They were at their stingy best in suffocating the Queensland Reds at Brisbane.

The other Australian derby saw the Western Force come from 0-22 down at halftime to beat the ACT Brumbies 29-22 at Perth and leapfrog them into eighth place.

Defending champions the Bulls were unbeaten over the final five rounds, finishing with a 60-20 thumping of high veldt neighbours the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein. 

Super 14 2008 - Semi-Finals

Semi-final One – Crusaders vs. Hurricanes
Date: Saturday, May 24 2008
Venue: AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Kick-off:  19:35 (17:35 Australian time) (09:35 SA time)

Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Assistant Ref 1: Matt Goddard
Assistant Ref 2: Paul Marks
TMO: Geoff Acton

Semi-final Two – NSW Waratahs vs. Sharks
Date: Saturday, May 24 2008
Venue: Sydney Football Stadium
Kick-off: 20:00 (22:00 New Zealand time) (12:00 SA time)

Referee: Bryce Lawrence
Assistant Ref 1: Lyndon Bray
Assistant Ref 2: Kelvin Deaker
TMO: G. Newman