Inga Tuigamala: Keeping faith in the fastest legs

Opinion

I desperately hope the Chiefs can nail a famous victory in Pretoria, so I'll refrain from picking them to beat the Bulls in Sunday morning's Super 14 final.

Earlier in the season, I doubted if the Chiefs had the depth to go this far, and even last week I picked the Hurricanes to win the semifinal in Hamilton.

So it would be a bad omen for me to start picking them to win now, and they face a mammoth task at Loftus Versfeld considering the way the Bulls destroyed the Crusaders.

But credit is due to the Ian Foster-coached side. I'm not sure what is going on in Moolooland, but they must be doing something right down there. The Chiefs thoroughly deserve their place in the final.

You have to love their commitment, and they are going to require every bit of that resource in the final.

There were wonderful standouts, including Mils Muliaina and Stephen Donald, who steered the boys home against the Hurricanes, but there are many unsung heroes who are putting their bodies on the line each week.

They'll have to repeat the desperation they showed defending their goal-line against the Hurricanes.

A lot has been made of the difficulties for a team going from sea level to the Highveld, but in my experience it is not quite as bad as some people make out.

It will still have some bearing on the game, of course, but in these situations the adrenaline takes over. After all, this is the pinnacle of provincial rugby in the Southern Hemisphere and the Chiefs will be jumping out of their skins despite the travel.

In Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha, the Bulls have the best lineout pair in world rugby, so the Chiefs face a considerable problem in that department, but it's important for them to concentrate on their own strengths.

The Chiefs must play their natural game and avoid going into a shell. That means taking a few calculated risks in running the ball back at the Bulls, rather than kicking possession away, and the New Zealanders have shown themselves to be one of the best counter-attacking sides in the competition.

I just hope they don't play negative rugby, and I'm sure they won't because Foster is not that type of coach. The Chiefs have speedsters, and playing on the hard ground at Loftus should suit them. They must try to turn defence into offence.

The return of Richard Kahui is a massive boost, especially with Sitiveni Sivivatu out, but the whole Chiefs backline has been firing in recent times. I think they have almost reached a point where it doesn't matter who they put in, because everyone has been stepping up to the job each week.

This is also a wonderful opportunity for players who might be on the All Black radar to impress Graham Henry in a major final. The Chiefs face a massive task. I can only wish them all the best and hope my gut feeling about the game is proven wrong again.

The Lions open their tour of South Africa this weekend, and what a prospect it is. The Springboks should be far too strong for them in the tests, though.

Looking through the Lions squad, it's hard to find players who will really trouble the Boks. The home side will have too much power, pace and skill.

And South African rugby is riding a wave of success that will help carry them past the Lions. You only have to see the size of the crowds there to know the game is in great heart.

Being the world champions must also give them a power of confidence. The Lions are going to find this test series very tough.