Southerners blinded by advantages of canny Canes

The Hurricanes are strewn with test players like Ma'a Nonu. Photo / Getty Images

Sympathy for the southern man is a sporting trait we find hard to shift.

As a nation we tend to side with the underdog, probably born from all those years of frustration when most of our national sporting codes, except the All Blacks, were regular victims or, even worse, sporting doormats.

Success at cricket, league and football was sporadic and other codes such as netball and hockey have only made recent dents on our national psyche.

Their supporters knew otherwise but like yachting's America's Cup, New Zealand did not really connect until the last few decades.

How we loved it when New Zealand won a hockey gold medal against Australia at the 1976 Olympics or when Richard Hadlee destroyed Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane in the 1985/86 series.

A decade later New Zealand won the America's Cup and a decade further on Michael Campbell won the 2005 US Open at Pinehurst. They were iconic moments in this nation's sporting history, when unfancied outsiders sawed off the globe's sporting superpowers.

We pander to notions we are No8 wire competitors. It's an image we are happy to perpetuate.

It's as if we think it dulls our competitors' edge and leaves them mentally soft.

It might have been that way from the end of World War II until the 1980s before New Zealand broke away from the boundaries of rugby, racing and beer to embrace a range of new sports. As a nation we found a wide array of events where we could excel.

When attention zeroes in on rugby without any All Black content and the provincial allegiances start to bubble strongly, you find all sorts of weird rationale for sports loyalty.

Support for the Highlanders has a bit of a Barry Crump edge about it and backing for the roll your sleeves up, self-sufficient, itinerant, laconic sort of attitude both portray.

The Highlanders are happy to carry that "she'll be right" perception if it creates any diversion.

One bloke I thought was rational suggested I should never doubt the Highlanders again after they sawed the Waratahs off in the semifinal. He's got two excuses, he's from the deep south and so is his cheese and kisses.

Others have variegated rationale for their southern support. They have some Caledonian connection, they prefer blue to yellow, Speight's, backing for the downtrodden, Dunedin Railway Station, Emerson's, Baldwin St, memories of Carisbrook and the casino.

Heaven knows what they think about me picking the Canes to find the right recipe tomorrow night at the Cake Tin in Wellington.

Who else could you go for though?

The Hurricanes are strewn with test players and this will be the last time about half a dozen will be seen in the franchise colours. They have led the way all season and are not about to bottle it tomorrow when widespread class will overcome a yeoman group topped with several superstars.

Debates about the outcome will continue until kickoff with only one certainty, this title will be a first Super Rugby triumph for one of the rivals.