Players throwing their bodies on the line, a do-or-die mentality and a big increase in contact intensity.
Brumbies assistant coach Stephen Larkham has told his players what to expect against the Cheetahs in their Super Rugby qualifying final in Canberra this Sunday.
The Wallabies great knows all about the play-offs, having steered the Brumbies to two Super Rugby titles from four grand finals.
"It's do or die," Larkham said.
"You get that intensity for the full 80 minutes, particularly the contact areas.
"Guys will throw themselves in there a little bit more.
"They're not going to hold anything back because they're not worried about injuries as it's potentially the last game of the season."
The Brumbies have had an unsettled build up to their first play-off game in nine years.
Yet Larkham is confident they can quicky bounce back to their best, pointing to the example of France's remarkable 2011 Rugby World Cup turnaround to reach the final.
The Brumbies' lead up has been interrupted by the one-month break for the Wallabies' Test series against the British and Irish Lions when they had nine of their best players away.
And, just like France's surprise World Cup loss to Tonga, the Brumbies faltered against the lowly Western Force 21-15 in their last match before the knock-out phase.
"You look at the French in the World Cup. They got through to the final and nearly beat New Zealand, having played so poorly in the round games," Larkham said.
"Your form beforehand doesn't really matter.
"You can change your mindset in a week quite easily in Super Rugby."
Wallabies and Brumbies inside centre Christian Lealiifano can feel things starting to click again at training.
"Absolutely, it's about our time together, training together and then everything should happen on Sunday," Lealiifano said.
"You've just got to build to that each day and the boys are definitely doing that.
"This group definitely bounces back from a loss."
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