Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie says the Reds are used to being in sudden death mode and won't be complacent as they regain three key players for Saturday's Super Rugby semi-final against the Blues.

Two Test backs - blockbusting winger Digby Ioane and tough centre Anthony Faingaa - plus rugged flanker Beau Robinson are all on track to return for the Suncorp Stadium showdown.

Ioane, man-of-the-match in the Reds' 37-31 win over the Blues in Brisbane in mid-May, missed two matches with concussion.

Faingaa sat out the the last two with a hamstring tear.

An elbow injury sidelined Robinson for the Reds' past three fixtures, but he played half a game of club rugby on Saturday.

"They are three very important players in getting us to where we are at this point in time, so it's not lost on us that having them coming back is very timely," McKenzie told AAP on Sunday.

The Blues advanced after spiking the prospects of an all-Australian semi-final with a clinical 26-13 win over NSW in Auckland.

Waratahs assistant coach Michael Foley is tipped to replace incumbent head coach Chris Hickey, though NSW officials are saying no decision will likely be made until after an internal review of the team's season.

The other semi-final will be in Cape Town in the early hours of Sunday morning (AEST), when the Stormers host the Crusaders, who beat the Sharks 36-8 in Nelson on Saturday.

The last 18 finals matches between teams from different countries over the past 12 seasons have all been won by the home side.

Overall, foreign teams have won only four out of 29 finals and no travelling side has succeeded since the Crusaders won the 2000 season decider against the Brumbies in Canberra by one point.

Renowned for his meticulous preparations, McKenzie is leaving nothing to chance and not taking any statistic for granted.

"I can guarantee you there's absolutely no complacency, I know no-one's getting ahead of themselves at all," McKenzie said.

"We've done enough to get some wins the last few weeks, but we don't think we've played our best."

The Blues trailed NSW early, but took control of the game in the second half, starving the understrength Waratahs of possession and territory.

"They played tactically smart, they played the corners once they got ahead on the scoreboard and pretty much strangled the Waratahs, I thought they were pretty good all round," McKenzie said.

"They've come off a patch of bad form, they've had two wins in a row, finding form again and looking dangerous. They play a total game."

McKenzie said Queensland had already played plenty of "life and death" games on their way to the finals.

"We lost to the Brumbies and if we cocked up the last two on the road against the Force and the Chiefs, we might have missed the finals altogether, so we feel like we've been playing sudden death anyway."

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP