The Western Force have jumped into fourth spot on the SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific ladder after their crucial 29-20 win over the Highlanders at HBF Park on Saturday night, but coach Simon Cron is a long way from talking about finals prospects.
They have a bye next weekend - the last club to have a week off at the halfway stage and the only club to have played eight games - but Cron is already planning for the Hurricanes clash at HBF Park in a fortnight (Saturday April 19, kick-off 5.35pm).
The Kiwi side is currently seventh, five points behind the Force.
Cron said the bonus point win over the Highlanders was a great outcome but stressed: "It's what we do from here on in."'
He said he doesn't talk about finals.
"I talk about the Hurricanes next and they're not bad," he said. "They're pretty sharp.
"We've got to get our game better. It's game by game and what we do now.
"We get ready for the next game after the break. It feels good (to be fourth).
"I'd like us to be second or first....that would have been a couple of games we could have peeled away (against the Reds)."
But he said there was great belief in the squad.
"We all believe," he said. "That was not our best performance. Our best performance is still coming.
"That's our mentality and we've got to keep driving it."
Cron praised the "battling spirit" of the side that outscored the Highlanders five tries to two.
They had five different try scorers: flanker Carlo Tizzano, his 11th of the season, hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa, full-back Mac Grealy, and wingers Harry Potter and George Poolman. Playmaker Ben Donaldson converted two.
They pulled themselves back from 13 points down with two late first-half tries to go into the break just 19-20 behind, scored 22 unanswered points and kept the Highlanders pointless for 53 minutes.
"The boys fought back, which was really important, especially that last 10 minutes before half-time," Cron said.
"We started to build phase play pressure, with some harder cleans and carries.
"At half-time we knew if we could maintain some possession in the right part of the field, we'd slowly start to peel them back.
"The boys did a great job.
"What I love is they kept putting to the corners and backing themselves.
"They were the right decisions at the right times.
"The key thing for me is when the Highlanders did get the ball we fought, and we didn't let them get a try and we fought to the end.
"That's the most important thing for me."
Captain Jeremy Williams said it was an important win with the bye looming.
"It was a really important game for our season. It was pretty critical we get the win," he said.
He said patience in the final minutes of the first half had been key to the two tries.
"We held the ball, we just played territory and played down their end of the field," he said.
"It was awesome to crawl back and finish the half on a positive note.
"You could feel the energy in the change rooms was high.
"We were really keen to get back out there.
"Awesome way to finish the first half and awesome way to carry onto the second half and finish that off as well."
Cron said it was "disappointing and frustrating" that Wallabies winger Dylan Pietsch suffered a quad injury after just seven minutes.
"We'll look after him and get him right," he said.
