After scaling a mountain to reach the Super 14 rugby final, the Chiefs will draw breath before assaulting a steep Pretoria summit. The first team to reach a final after losing their first three Super rugby games, the Chiefs’ ultimate assignment is their stiffest – to topple the highly favoured Bulls at Loftus Versfeld on Sunday.
They are far from the greasy yet comfortable night conditions of Waikato Stadium, where the Chiefs have laid their character bare in a series of tight, low-scoring wins.
A new-found resilience may not be enough in the dry, hard conditions of Pretoria.
Awaiting them is a deafening cauldron where their Springboks-laden opponents haven’t tasted defeat for 11 matches.
However, despite the absence of injured game-breakers Sitiveni Sivivatu and Brendon Leonard, the Chiefs have the sort of backline firepower to counter the Bulls’ expected kicking game.
The return of centre Richard Kahui is a major boost and, if five-eighth Stephen Donald is on-song, their first visit to a Super rugby final could produce a historic result.
Chiefs coach Ian Foster knows something special will be needed yet this week has maintained the open, relaxed demeanour that has marked the entire team’s 16-week campaign.
“We would have preferred 25,000 supporters cheering for us, but we are looking forward to the intensity that comes with a game at Loftus,” Foster told journalists.
“The stadium and the spectators are unique and feared, but we won’t be intimidated because the round-robin fixture in Pretoria last month (which the Bulls won 33-27) counts in our favour because the players know what to expect.”
That match was the Chiefs’ only loss since their disastrous February start, winning their 10 other games on the back of a sharp back division controlled splendidly by Donald and a forward unit packed with unlikely heroes.
The inexperienced tight five that was tipped as their weakness pre-season has been a heads down-bums up force at both set piece and the breakdown.
Hooker Aled de Malmanche and No.8 Sione Lauaki are mercurial yet powerful forces with ball in hand while flankers Liam Messam and Tanerau Latimer are unrivalled for their combined work rate.
And finishing games strongly has become a real strength. It is more than two months since the Chiefs last conceded more than seven points in the second half.
“Our bench has been one of our key strengths this year,” Foster said, conscious of the lung-busting nature of playing at high altitude.
“Our ability to put guys on in that second half and just lift the team up a cog.”
Captain Mils Muliaina is the only former finalist within the Chiefs ranks, as part of the champion 2003 Blues side.
All Blacks fullback Muliaina hasn’t bothered recounting the experience to his teammates.
More important is preparing for the Loftus Versfeld factor, with his team mostly sheltered from the depth of passion for the Bulls in Pretoria.
Muliaina and his men have spent most of their week either training or behind hotel walls.
Expectations are high that the Bulls can give South African rugby a boost just as the British and Irish Lions tour of their country kicks off.
A win to the Bulls would complement their 2007 crown and earn a second Super rugby title for South Africa while the Chiefs are chasing New Zealand’s 11th title in the competition’s 14th year.
If the scores are level at fulltime, 20 minutes of extra time will be played.
If still tied, the teams will be crowned joint winners.
BULLS v CHIEFS (2nd, 45pts) at Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria, at 1.30am
Head to head: Played 14, Bulls 5, Chiefs 8, drawn 1
In Pretoria: Played 7, Bulls 5, Chiefs 2
Last meeting: Bulls 33-27 in Pretoria, rd 11, 2009BULLS
Super titles: 1 (2007)
2009 record: Minor premiers (played 13, won 10, lost 3; 338 points for, 271 points against)
Semi-final: bt Crusaders 36-23, Pretoria
TEAM: Zane Kirchner, Akona Ndungane, Jaco Pretorius, Wynand Olivier, Bryan Habana, Morne Steyn, Fourie du Preez, Pierre Spies, Dewald Potgieter, Deon Stegmann, Victor Matfield (capt), Bakkies Botha, Werner Kruger, Derick Kuun, Gurthro Steenkamp. Reserves: Chiliboy Ralepelle, Rayno Gerber, Danie Rossouw, Pedrie Wannenburg, Heini Adams, Burton Francis, Marius Delport or Gerhard van den Heever.CHIEFS
Super titles: 0
2009 record: 2nd (played 13, won 9, lost 4; 338 points for, 236 points against)
Semi-final: bt Hurricanes 14-10, Hamilton
TEAM: Mils Muliaina (capt), 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, Aled de Malmanche, Sona Taumalolo. Reserves: Hika Elliot, Joe Savage, Toby Lynn, Serge Lilo, David Bason, Mike Delany, Sosene Anesi.SportsAlive: Bulls $1.37, Chiefs $3.20
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
So the dust has settled on the inaugural United Rugby Championship tournament, with the Stormers celebrating a deserved first championship win over the Bulls…
At 37 years old, Morne Steyn kicked a winning penalty to secure South Africa’s back-to-back victory over the British Irish Lions. Steyn broke Lions…
In his novel A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickins said, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it…
The 2019 season saw the departure of many big names from the Bulls: star playmaker Handre Pollard, agile line-breaking centre Jesse Kriel, and their…
Morne Steyn had been a first-fiddle Springboks flyhalf, before being replaced by the emergence of Pat Lambie and Handre Pollard. It has been a…
South Africa fullback Warrick Gelant has made the switch from the Pretoria-based Bulls to Super Rugby rivals the Cape Town Stormers. Gelant, 25, will…
