KEY POINTS:
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the ring your contenders.
In the red corner (obviously), appearing in a record ninth Super Rugby final, the six-time champs, with a playoff record of 15-3, the Crusaders.
And in the blue corner, put your hands together for the one-time losing finalists,
with two playoff wins to their name in the past 12 years, the pride of Sydney, the Waratahs.
If it was a boxing match, you'd want to make sure you were seated when the bell went for the first round.
On paper, at least, there hasn't been a mismatch this glaring since Mike Tyson was let out of jail to chase Pete "I'll wrap you in a cocoon of horror" McNeely around the ring for 89 seconds.
The Waratahs, of course, will argue that past records count for nothing, that history is bunk.
They will say that 10-4 advantage the Crusaders enjoy in head-to-head meetings means little, and the fact that they haven't beaten the Crusaders in their past five attempts means even less.
But they will have a tougher time dismissing recent form.
The Crusaders boasted the best attack and the best defence in the competition after the round-robin phase.
The Waratahs may have had the second-best defence, but their attack ranked a miserable 12th.
Not only did they struggle to score tries, their goal kicker, Kurtley Beale, had the lowest success rate of any regular marksman in the competition.
Of the irregulars, Jerry Collins looked sharper.
By comparison, the Crusaders ran in 49 tries this season, five more than the next best team - the Chiefs - and 16 more than the Waratahs.
They also have a chap named Daniel Carter kicking their goals.
The round-six clash in Christchurch between the two sides this year was a one-sided affair, with the Crusaders running away in the second half to win 34-7.
And it's not just numbers and statistics that would appear to favour the Crusaders.
Factor in their home-town advantage - even if they did struggle to fill a half-built ground - and the emotional boost provided by wanting to send their departing coach Robbie Deans off on a winning note and you've got a match up that makes David v Goliath look like an even-money affair.
About the only thing the two finalists have in common is that they both, somewhat curiously, lost to the Chiefs this season - and they'll both be looking for a new coach regardless of the result tomorrow.
So the numbers favour the Crusaders.
But remind me, how did David v Goliath finish up? ...
