Wallabies ‘must stop SBW’
Recalled centre Tevita Kuridrani says stopping Sonny Bill Williams’ offloads is a key target for the Wallabies’ defence as they seek to revive their Rugby Championship campaign.
Kuridrani has been selected in the No 13 jersey ahead of close friend Samu Kerevi, who missed several critical tackles in Australia’s 54-34 loss to the All Blacks last weekend in Sydney.
The Brumbies star is confident he can strike up a good partnership with Kurtley Beale in midfield, but is mindful that Williams and Ryan Crotty present a considerable physical challenge.
‘‘They are a pretty big centre pairing, we really need to keep our eyes close to them, especially Sonny Bill, he’s good at offloading in close contact,’’ Kuridrani said at a Wallabies training session in Christchurch on Thursday.
‘‘We just need to tighten up that, and hopefully they don’t get through the midfield.’’
Wallabies defensive coach Nathan Grey devised a system which had his outside centre, Kerevi, defending in the No 12 slot and Beale in the 13 hole.
Kuridrani said he was ‘‘pretty easy’’ about his role.
‘‘I can defend 12 or 13. It’s just about getting the combination right and the chat and trying to get that rhythm and the communication.’’
Crotty is an accomplished organiser of the All Blacks’ backline defence, and Grey will be looking for plenty of talk among his own backline.
‘‘We haven’t spoken about it much, but that’s what the coaches want from us,’’ Kuridrani said. ’’Especially from our backs, because we’re out there seeing the space and seeing the players that are outside because the forwards are more worried about the ruck.
‘‘We need to be on our voice and screaming out if we need numbers.’’
Kuridrani conceded the Wallabies’ defence ‘‘wasn’t where it should be’’ in Sydney.
‘‘Playing against the All Blacks, they are a really good attacking team and you need your defence needs to be spot-on
‘‘We’ve really been working on that for this weekend, especially with me coming back into the starting team, working with Kurtley at 12.’’
Kuridrani, who will play his 49th test in Dunedin since his debut in 2013, was the Wallabies’ starting centre in the 2015 Rugby World Cup final.
Head coach Michael Cheika chose to start Kerevi last weekend but admitted he may have rushed the Queensland Reds back too soon, and said he was pleased with Kuridrani’s workrate in Sydney.
‘‘I think Cheika was really happy with my impact when I came off the bench last week, the energy I brought to the team,’’ Kuridrani said.
‘‘I think, defensively, he was happy with the way I controlled our defence, so he just gave me a heads-up early this week that I was going to be starting.
‘‘Cheik wanted finishers to be able to come in and take the game to another level. I think that was our mindset [last week], especially the bench players, when we came in.
‘‘We need to bring that energy from the start [in Dunedin].’’
Kuridrani, 26, and Kerevi, 23, both from Fiji, are almost inseparable off the field and help each other prepare for test matches. Kerevi made his Wallabies debut last year and displaced his compatriot during the Rugby Championship series, but Kuridrani came back with four tries from five tests on Australia’s northern hemisphere tour.