The reigning champion Crusaders will be looking to beat up on depleted Queensland and knock the NSW Waratahs to the canvas in the process as the Super 14 finals fight reaches the penultimate round this weekend.

Six of the seven matches will have a direct bearing on the make-up of the four-team finals series, but no clash is more pivotal than the Waratahs' showdown with the Sharks in Durban on Saturday night (AEST).

The fifth-placed Waratahs will enter the game against the fourth-placed Sharks believing their finals fate rests in their own hands.

True enough, any victory for NSW without allowing the Sharks a bonus point will see the Waratahs leapfrogging their South African rivals.

But anything less than a big bonus-point win for the Tahs and they will almost certainly find themselves stranded outside the top four behind the defending champion Crusaders entering the final round.

The Crusaders - equal with NSW on competition points but behind the Waratahs on for-and-against - will be expected to rack up a big score at home on Friday against the struggling Reds, who are without 10 regulars and battling to even field a team.

The one certainty is that defeat for the Tahs would leave them needing a final round miracle - involving a massive win over the Lions in Johannesburg and a series of other unlikely results to go their way - to keep their title hopes alive.

Only twice in 13 years has Australia not had a team in the semi-finals but, with the Western Force in ninth spot and five points adrift of fourth, only the Brumbies can realistically save the day if the Waratahs stumble in Durban.

The seventh-placed Brumbies - also equal on competition points with the Waratahs and Crusaders but with a poor differential - host the erratic Blues in Canberra on Saturday night before ending their regular season campaign against the high-flying Chiefs in Hamilton.

In the match of the round, front-runners the Hurricanes can lock up a home semi-final with success over the second-placed Chiefs in Saturday night's top-of-the-table clash at Waikato Stadium.

Elsewhere, the third-placed Bulls can all but confirm their finals entry with victory over the Cheetahs in Pretoria and the out-of-contention Stormers are home to the Force in Cape Town - with both games starting early Sunday morning AEST.

The 10th-placed Higlanders and 12th-placed Lions play for pride in Johannesburg on Saturday morning AEST.

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