Defence the key for Kururangi

Defence is likely to be the difference between victory and defeat in today’s 130th Nomura Varsity Match according to Cambridgesecond row Jason Kururangi.

The Belfast-born New Zealander is expecting another tight Twickenham encounter after nine of the last 13 fixtures finished with just one score between the sides.

Wales, Lions and former Wasps defence specialist Shaun Edwards has passed on his advice courtesy of a coaching session atCambridge last month and Kururangi knows the Light Blues must now transfer those skills on to the big stage.

“It’s about defence, defence, defence,” said Kururangi, who featured in last year’s defeat to Oxfordand whose father is a former All Black.

“A lot will also come down to your defensive structure and how well you can defend because both teams can hold on to the ball and have some talented runners and really good backs.

“Our defence in the first half when we lost to Saracens in November was unacceptable. You can’t read too much into a better showing against the Steele Bodgers because, as an invitational side, their structures aren’t quite there, but we were happy with where we were at the end of that game.

“We’ve got to build on that and make sure our defence is water tight against Oxford.”

And while there have been plenty of tries and no shortage of free-flowing rugby in each of the last four Varsity encounters, Kururangi expects the key battles to take place up front this time around.

Both sides boast pace in abundance out wide in 2011 but the setpiece and the breakdown will no doubt have a huge role to play in the season’s most significant amateur event.

“We’ve got a very strong front row and we’re hoping they can assert some dominance at scrum time. I’m not saying that Oxforddon’t have a really good front row but that could be a strength of ours,” added Kururangi.

“Stu Brown is a very good tighthead. He was a bolter in the team last year. He came into the squad late and performed very well on the big stage. He’s a great scrummaging prop and is a very smart player. 

“We’ve just got to step up and play the best we can but I think Oxford’s strength is in the back five of the pack – they’re a very talented bunch - so that battle’s going to be very interesting. I think the game’s going to be very tight and will be won or lost at the breakdown.

“We’ve got some very talented backs, though, and if we can create the space for them to have a go and have a crack out wide, it should be a cracking game.”

Today’s encounter is a unique one in the university calendar, a clash which means so much and takes place in front of so many.

An expected crowd of close to 30,000 will add to the historic occasion but Kururangi admits the huge following the game attracts does take some getting used to.

“Twickenham’s a great venue. I played here last year and it was a little bit of a shock. You come out on the pitch in front of 28,000 people or whatever it was and it was very loud.

“Last year we lost a lineout call and mucked another one up because we just couldn’t hear the call. It’s a very intense environment to play in and I’d never played in front of a crowd like that before back home.

“Mentally it was a bit of shock to the system last year so I think having a year’s experience must help. But we also had a game against the Steele Bodgers in front of about 3,000 so that helps as well and it gets you into that feeling of playing in front of a lot of people.

“But saying that, Twickenham is an unreal experience, just with the sheer size of the ground. We’ve got a nice, big ground atGrange Road but it’s nothing like Twickenham which is another level.”