The minor premiers' third title clash with the Crusaders in nine years will be their first on home soil and a forecast 50,000-plus attendance will easily smash the Waratahs' home crowd record of 40,449.

There is every indication it will also set an Australian benchmark, surpassing the 52,113 who watched the Queensland Reds beat the Crusaders 18-13 in the 2011 final.

Even a competition record is not beyond reach. Organisers say the Waratahs' gutsy 26-8 win against last year's runners-up the Brumbies at the weekend could mean an Australian team breaks the Super Rugby crowd record of 55,000, which was set when the Bulls monstered the Chiefs 61-17 at Loftus Versfeld to claim their second of three titles in 2009. The dream run of home finals has already netted Waratahs Rugby an estimated $400,000 and promises to put a further $800,000 or more into the province's empty kitty, minus the $175,000 in fees the home side is required to pay the visiting teams.

Only the Crusaders stand in the way of the dream scenario imagined by Australian Rugby Union boss Bill Pulver at the start of the season when he declared 2014 "the year of the Waratahs".  The last time the warriors from Canterbury played a final in Australia they left Suncorp Stadium losers, but their record against NSW home or away is characterised by despair on the Australian side.

They have outclassed NSW twice before in a Super Rugby final. They won a 35-25 thriller in Christchurch in 2005 and in 2008 - the year the Waratahs believed glory was theirs - they gave a 20-12 masterclass in patience and determination.  The Waratahs led 12-11 at half-time and outscored the Crusaders two tries to one but lost five-eighth Kurtley Beale to injury in the second half and had their hearts broken by a grinding Crusaders pack and a fairytale send-off for departing coach Robbie Deans.

But history means little to NSW coach Michael Cheika. After finally coming down from the high of watching his players guts out a classic Australian derby, Cheika said the minor premiers would not be shackled by the Crusaders' rich tradition of success.

"That's irrelevant to me," he said. "It's one day and that's it as far as I'm concerned. Everyone wants to read things from the past but for me, I don't feel that and I don't think our players will feel that either. We just feel lucky we have our chance to play a home final in front of our supporters and get stuck in."

There were few similarities in the two semi-finals played out within an hour of each other on opposite sides of the Tasman on Saturday.

The Waratahs emptied the tank to hold out the Brumbies in a classic 20-minute period of set piece trench warfare in Sydney, while the Crusaders never looked seriously challenged by the Sharks in Christchurch.

Cheika dismissed concerns his players might have nothing left after putting it all on the line to make the final.  "You've got to manage that because you can't let adrenaline mask it - when you're buggered you're buggered - but I don't see any of that going on," he said.

The Crusaders found hole after hole in the Sharks defence and rarely let a ball die in contact to score five tries in their 38-6 rout of the South Africans.

Cheika said the Waratahs' competition-best defence would be put to the test for a second straight week. "They've got very big, strong men running in wide channels, with [Nemani] Nadolo and [Kieran] Read, and [Richie] McCaw getting his hands on the ball more at No.6. They are very strong and can offload, and then they have good ball handlers on the inside channel. Our defensive technique is going to be key to hinder the offloads."