Cambridge skipper looking for winning send-off

Former Canadian World Cup player Matt Guinness-King is hoping to head into rugby retirement on the ultimate high by captaining Cambridge University to Varsity Match glory at Twickenham Stadium tomorrow (Thursday, 8 December, kick-off 2.00pm).

The 31-year-old centre will lead the Light Blues into the 130th encounter between the Light and Dark Blues in what will be his final appearance before he puts rugby on the back burner.

And while he can boast an appearance against the All Blacks at the 2003 World Cup amongst nine caps for Canada, the MBA student insists victory at the headquarters of English Rugby in the most prestigious amateur fixture in the rugby world calendar would be the highlight of his illustrious career.

“I couldn’t think of a better team to be playing for and a better bunch of guys to be playing with in my final game. If it all comes together, it would be a fantastic way to finish,” said Guinness-King, whose Cambridge side have won seven of their 13 matches so far this term.

“It’s a unique feeling within this Club. Here the experience is so complete. When you’re playing for Canada you’re achieving athletic excellence and really pushing yourself next to a top-notch bunch of guys.

“But at Cambridge you fulfil so many goals in your life. You look at academic achievement, the friends you make from studying together, working out and playing together and you can see that you tick so many different boxes.

“If you win the Varsity Match, your season’s a 100 per cent success, but if you lose, it’s a complete abject failure. It seems like all those months of hard work go to waste if you fall short.

“To bring all the hard work together in one particular moment on one particular day would be something pretty special. There would be no other feeling like it.

“I was part of the team that lost to Oxford last year and that was a dreadful experience. Winning this week would be the best rugby experience of my life and it would be a great way for me to finish off my rugby career.”

Victory clearly means so much to Guinness-King but he isn’t alone in his desperation to taste success on the biggest amateur stage of all.

Like his Canadian counterpart, Oxford skipper John Carter has seen his been nursing his way through the build-up to Twickenham. A long term shoulder injury means the former Sale Sharks, Leicester Tigers and Doncaster professional is only ever one major collision away from hanging up his boots.

But under new coach James Wade, the London Wasps High Performance Manager, the Oxford skipper has been primed to lead a Dark Blues pack that will boast seven old Blues. Odd man out is impressive American flanker Derek Asbun, who makes the grade in his first term at the university.

“The team is ready and the strength of the relationships amongst the players adds to an already huge sense of what this games means to us. As a team we are very excited about defending out title in what really is a cup final to both sides,” said Carter.

A crowd of up to 30,000 is expected at Twickenham after ticket sales rocketed through the 25,000 mark earlier in the week. Cambridge will have a number of players with experience of winning at the ground having recruited Tom O’Toole and Rob Malaney from last season’s British Universities champions Durham and ex-Loughborough centre Kristian Cooke.

It could well turn into a battle between Guinness-King’s fleet-footed backs and Carter’s experienced pack, with Light Blues scrum half Don Blake a potential game breaker. Like his back row colleague Malaney, he will be following in the footsteps of an elder brother in winning a Blue.

In fact, brother Ross, who captained Cambridge to victory in 2007, will be close at hand because he is running the touch-line in a return to the age old tradition of former captains carrying out the touch-judging duties. Joining him in helping English international referee Dave Pearson will be his rival skipper from five years ago, Australian World Cup winner Joe Roff.

130th VARSITY MATCH TEAMS
Oxford University: Jon Hudson (Lincoln); Sean Morris * (Trinity), Sebastian Perkins (St Edmund Hall), Gavin Turner (Kellogg), Cassian Bramham-Law (Hertford); Tom Mitchell (Kellogg), Sam Egerton (Keble); Hamish Macdonald * (Wadham), Govind Oliver * (Green Templeton), Will Kane * (University), Karl Outen * (St Edmund Hall), Tom Evans * (St Hugh's), Derek Asbun (Kellogg), Louis Mather * (University), John Carter * (Kellogg, Captain)
Replacements: Anthony Connor * (Keble), Lewis Anderson * (University), Jason Law (Kellog), Jamie Durward (Kellogg), Ruairi O'Donavon (Exeter), Harry Guinness * (St Antony's), Matt Janney (Oriel), Jonathan Direen (Kellogg)
Cambridge University: Tom O’Toole (St Edmund’s); Paul Loudon * (St Edmunds), Matt Guinness-King * (St Catharine’s, Captain), Kristian Cook (Hughes Hall), Robert Stevens * (Jesus); Steve Townend (Downing), Don Blake (Hughes Hall); William Briggs (Magdalene), Mark Murdoch (St Edmunds), Stuart Brown * (Clare), Jason Kururangi *(St Edmunds), Scott Annett * (Clare), Ben Martin * (St Catharine’s), Rob Malaney (St Edmund’s), Dave Allen (Pembroke)
Replacements: Rupert Cowan (Pembroke), Fergus Austin (Gonville/Caius), Sam Young (Emmanuel), Ollie Wolfe (Christ’s), Sam Hunt * (Girton), Greg Cushing * (Ridley Hall), Mathonwy Thomas (St John’s), Hugo Cobb (Magdalene)
* Former Blue

Referee: Dave Pearson (RFU)
AR1: Joe Roff (Oxford University Captain 2007)
AR2: Ross Blake (Cambridge University Captain 2007)