Rugby: Forget all those Highveld stereotypes

Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina says his team have to start well. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Chiefs v Bulls
Pretoria, 3.30am tomorrow

Disregard most of those preconceived notions about teams from South Africa's Highveld; the ones about hulking, raw-boned Boers grinding their way to victory with a blend of relentless physicality and sheer bloody-mindedness.

While there will undoubtedly be a few throwbacks in the Loftus Versfeld stands, a Bulls team that will attempt to win their second Super Rugby title in three years when they take on the Chiefs tomorrow are a good deal more sophisticated than that.

And they aren't that big. The Chiefs have the bigger pack to the tune of 21kg. They have the heaviest forward on the park in 122kg prop Joe Savage, while Richard Kahui (99kg) and Stephen Donald (98kg) are the biggest backs.

If anything, the Bulls' greatest strength is their ability to counter-attack from depth and strike with pace and precision out wide. Wings Bryan Habana and Akona Ndungane were key figures as they dug their way out of holes against both the Sharks in their final round robin match and the Crusaders in last week's semifinal.

It was an Ndungane try that sparked the Bulls' revival when they trailed the Sharks 19-10 mid-way through the second half in that last-round thriller, while both wingers crossed as they rallied from 20-7 down to end the defending champions' crusade.

The Bulls' habit of stepping on the gas and leaving their opponents spluttering in their exhaust fumes hasn't escaped the Chiefs' notice.

"They'll certainly fight to the bitter end," Chiefs captain Mils Muliaina said. "We have seen when they are 20 points down what they can do, their ability to come back. That is fresh in our minds. It is part of being in the final and knowing this opposition.

"We have got to start well and hopefully quieten the crowd. We always knew it was going to be tough, flying over here and playing at Loftus. I don't know when it was the Bulls last lost at home."

Round nine last season against the Hurricanes, Mils - a run of 10 straight victories. But the notion of Loftus being an impregnable stronghold also contains a degree of myth. Overall, the Bulls have won 39 of 72 home Super Rugby matches - or just 54 per cent.

The deadly boot of first five-eighths Morne Steyn is one area where the Bulls do adhere to type.

Steyn's four drop goals against the Crusaders - it would have been five had another not struck a post - were a Super Rugby record. One of his kicks, an angled strike from inside his own half, carried well over 60m on the fly.

"You can't dwell on it," Chiefs coach Ian Foster said of the likelihood Steyn will attempt to replicate those deeds in the final.

"It is clearly a tactic they use and it is very effective. But they are a good enough team that if you focus too much on trying to shut down the drop kick by sending people up quickly at him they have got the ability to play a little bit wider.

"It is something we've got to be aware of and try to minimise the amount of opportunities and field position that he gets."

With 55,000 rabid fans packed into its steep stands, Loftus is certainly one of the more intimidating arenas in Super Rugby. But it is not entirely foreign to the Chiefs, who played out a 27-33 defeat at the ground just five weeks ago - their lone loss in their last 10 matches.

"Last time we played there it was a top of the table clash and there was plenty of hype, so that was good in preparing us for the intensity that is going to come before kick-off," Foster said.

"It wasn't the most clinical game we've played and I'd guess they'd say the same thing. In a lot of ways, looking back at that match isn't going to be too helpful. But it terms of understanding the environment we are going into and the pressure we are going to be under, it was an important dress rehearsal for us."

There have been mixed messages coming out of the Chiefs camp this week. While Richard Kahui spoke of being "pretty much locked in our hotel" and Muliaina said their major interaction with Bulls fans had involved throat-slitting gestures when the team bus was stopped at traffic lights, Foster insisted in a radio interview that the Chiefs had been getting out and about and liked Pretoria just fine.

But Foster, perhaps mindful of the fallout from when Wallabies fullback Chris Latham infamously blamed a Reds defeat on the poor state of Hamilton's nightlife, was likely just being politic.

Make no mistake, the Chiefs are on a smash and grab raid. Their sole aim to is turn up at Loftus in peak shape, score more points than the Bulls and then get on the first plane out with the Super 14 trophy stashed in their luggage.

When it comes to their chances of doing that, they are certainly on the same page.

"We've always believed that if we could get ourselves here we could have a really good shot at it," Muliaina said.

BULLS v CHIEFS:

Bulls

Zane Kirchner
Akona Ndungane
Jaco Pretorius
Wynand Olivier
Bryan Habana
Morne Steyn
Fourie du Preez
Pierre Spies
Dewald Potgieter
Deon Stegmann
Victor Matfield (c)
Bakkies Botha
Werner Kruger
Derick Kuun
G. Steenkamp

Reserves: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Rayno Gerber, Danie Rossouw, Pedrie Wannenburg, Heini Adams, Burton Francis, Marius Delport.

Chiefs

Mils Muliaina
Lelia Masaga
Richard Kahui
Callum Bruce
Dwayne Sweeney
Stephen Donald
Toby Morland
Sione Lauaki
Tanerau Latimer
Liam Messam
Kevin O'Neill
Craig Clarke
James McGougan
A. de Malmanche
S. Taumalolo

Reserves: Hika Elliot, Joe Savage, Toby Lynn, Serge Lilo, David Bason, Mike Delany, Sosene Anesi.