Gregor Paul: Two teams best suited to Super Rugby knockout format

Hurricanes' Julian Savea scores a try as he is tackled by Highlanders' Marty Banks. Photosport

Tough to know why, but 20-plus years into Super Rugby and it could be that Kiwis don't quite have their heads around what knockout rugby is all about.

It took the All Blacks 24 years of World Cup failure to finally get it - to grasp that it doesn't matter that they had shot the lights out in the pool stages, or in the three years prior to the tournament.

Knock out rugby has nothing to do with form, or not much at least. It has little to do with the apparent talent within the group or the number of so-called star players.

The usual assessments don't work. Logic has to be thrown away because it won't help anyone accurately determine what might happen in the next few weeks.

Instead, it has everything to do with character, resilience and desire. Knock out rugby is about hanging in there. It is about being able to scramble small victories at critical times.

It's not easy to describe, but at the core of teams who tend to do well in playoffs, is this indefatigable spirit. Champion sides usually have this near indestructible passion to keep working for one another, to defend with everything they have and not allow themselves to drift out of the game or be crushed by a little bit of adversity.

Looking at the eight teams left in Super Rugby, two stand out as being near-perfect playoff teams. Those two are the Hurricanes and Highlanders.

They have the near intangible qualities required to find a way to the final. The Highlanders are masters at doggedness. They have something incredible within their camp that allows them to stay in games.

Look at how they scrapped and struggled to get over the top of the British & Irish Lions. They should have been toast early in the second half but a few big tackles, a couple of swarming counter rucks and a second wind for their scrum saw them revive.

They are a team that refuses to be put away and despite the fact they lost their pool encounter with the Crusaders in Christchurch, they will be confident they can achieve a result this weekend.

They will be welcoming back Aaron and Ben Smith and their coaching group has previously shown it is capable of astute tactical analysis to build clever and effective gameplans tailored for the occasion.

That's another playoff gift - adapting strategies to suit. The Highlanders kicked the Waratahs to defeat in 2015 and the Hurricanes, maybe not fully appreciated, tackled their way to title last year.

In the pool stages they were all about their attacking flair and then for the last three games, they flipped the emphasis to the tenacity of their defence, didn't concede a try in 240 minutes of playoff rugby and were crowned champions.

Just like the Highlanders, the Hurricanes have that same capacity to find a way to score points, to defend their line and scramble. Under pressure, they have shown they can deliver.

They didn't do that so well in 2015, but last year, they were calm, composed and clinical in the final three games.

Their path to the final is most likely going to involve a trip to Ellis Park which may not be as daunting for the Canes as it seems. The Lions are a good side and with home advantage will be hard to beat.

But the track at Ellis Park will most likely be dry and fast and that will suit the Hurricanes just fine.

Forget how things looked in the pool stages. None of that matters now.