Louisa Wall: Whipping up some history lessons

I wonder whether the inaugural Super 14 final tonight between the Hurricanes and the Crusaders will be Tana Umaga's Super swansong.

If so, he (and his mighty Hurricanes teammates) absolutely deserves to end with a victory. And won't that be a turn-up for the record books given the overwhelming predictions last weekend of a Waratahs victory and the impressive finals history that the Crusaders have created.

Last weekend, when many raved about the performance of Lote Tuquiri during the semifinal, Umaga was there time and again to stop him.

Umaga should still be All Black captain and centre. But, as we know, he retired early this year in what All Black legend and former captain Sean Fitzpatrick believes was a "tough decision" by coach Graham Henry to ask Umaga to relinquish the captaincy.

It is a crying shame there is no room for him and I agree with the sentiments expressed by former Australia coach Eddie Jones last weekend that we will miss Umaga immensely. While he was a reasonable attacking player, he was outstanding defensively.

He is still undeniably the best centre option we have but All Black life goes on and hopefully if he is somehow required, Henry will not hesitate to call on him.

And what of the prospect of a Hurricanes victory tonight?

The Canes are absolutely the underdogs, expected to lose by most given the history, the venue and the awesome ability of the opposition. Some think the Crusaders will cruise to victory as they did in the semifinal against the Bulls but somehow I don't think so.

Two events from sporting history may inspire the Hurricanes.

At the 1980 Olympic Winter Games the "Miracle on Ice" happened.

That was the tag for the men's ice hockey game in which a team of amateur and collegiate players from the United States beat the long-dominant and heavily-favoured Soviet Union. The US team then went on to win the gold medal with the Soviet Union finishing with bronze.

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox were down three games to none against the heavily favoured New York Yankees in the Championship Series.

What happened? The Red Sox won four games in a row to defeat the Yankees four games to three, en route to winning their first World Series title in 86 years.

So, there are a couple of examples where the underdogs prevailed.

If the Hurricanes do win it will be seen as "The Miracle at Jade" and be regarded as one of the great moments in the history of Super rugby.

On another tack, I can't help but link a Hurricanes victory to Umaga and the contribution that he has made to New Zealand rugby.

This is more as a mark of respect and admiration for a man who has given so much to a sport he loves.

If I were a Hurricane I would be playing my guts out for him and, in turn, for myself.

That is the type of sentiment and motivation which only great leaders inspire.

Go the Canes!