The battle-hardened Brumbies say they have the experience at the pointy end of Super Rugby to catapult them over bitter rivals the Waratahs into their second consecutive grand final appearance.
The Waratahs are outright favourites to follow up the minor premiership with a home semi-final win in front of almost 40,000 fans and a shot at a history-making first title next weekend.
But Brumbies captain Ben Mowen believes Saturday's near-sold out semi-final will be won by the team that best handles the pressure of sudden death.
And Mowen says his side, who made it through two knockout games [against the Force and Chiefs] to arrive in Sydney this week, are that team.
''We take a lot of comfort out of being in those positions,'' he said.
''We understand the feeling you have in a game when you understand the season could potentially be done at that full 80-minute mark.
''It's different, it's totally different to regular season games, you can't compare them. It's almost like playing two seasons. The next season starts once the finals are on and the regular season's done.''
Not only did the Brumbies travel a harder road than the Waratahs to this weekend, they will be able to plumb reserves of experience collected from last year's heartbreaking final loss to the Chiefs.
The side did laps of the southern hemisphere to make it to Hamilton for the final, only to run out of steam and surrender a 22-12 lead in the final 15 minutes.
This is the Waratahs' first finals appearance in three years. Coach Michael Cheika's pre-game preparation has not let them down this season, but there is a double edge to their charmed run up the ladder.
''The big advantage for the Waratahs is that they've had a good week off to refresh and at this time of the year that can be important,'' Mowen said.
''For us, we needed that momentum, and we feel like we're playing our best footy in the past fortnight.''
What the Waratahs do have is recent experience in digging deep. Under immense pressure from the Chiefs in New Plymouth in round 16, a Dave Dennis try sparked a second-half resurgence to snap a four-year drought for the side in New Zealand.
The team lost Dennis to a knee injury in their next regular-round match, but are otherwise at full strength heading into Saturday's match.
So too are the Brumbies, who are without Test hooker Stephen Moore but otherwise in possession of a bench of rare quality.
Mowen said the sides were well-matched, leaving the result to the team that makes the best decisions under pressure.
''There'll be a lot of moments where you'll feel like your season's gone, or it's hanging in the balance, and you have to have a cool head in those situations because the only result that's going to be important is at the 80-minute mark,'' he said.
''The side that can manage their way best to that point is going to come away with a huge win.''
