Kuridrani calls for leadership

Brumbies centre Tevita Kuridrani says the senior players need to guide the youngsters following his side’s 18-12 defeat to the Blues in Canberra.

The Brumbies lost their third match in a row and sixth out of nine games this season on Sunday.

The Waratahs are closing in on them at the top of the Australian conference after their 29-26 defeat of the Reds. The Brumbies have a bye next weekend while the ‘Tahs face the Blues and can wipe out their lead if they beat the men from Auckland.

The last time the Brumbies lost three on the trot was in 2011 when they finished 13th.

And Kuridrani is hoping that the bye will reinvigorate the beleaguered Brumbies in the midst of an alarming mid-season slump and has called on the senior players within the squad to show leadership in these trying times.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys in the team and there’s a lot to do, but this is new territory for a lot of us,” Kuridrani told watoday.com.

“But we have to see it as good learning, go away for the bye and then come back refreshed for the next challenge. We have to get ourselves back together and the senior guys will lead that.

“We didn’t finish our opportunities against the Blues … we’ve just got to fix a few things up.

“We’re trying to bring in that attack this year so we’ll keep doing that because we’ll back our [defence] to get the job done for us.”

Meanwhile, Brumbies coach and Wallabies legend Stephen Larkham believes there is no need to panic and is keeping calm.

“We hit the Lions and then on to South Africa and Argentina before we play the Rebels, so we’ve got four games in a row,” Larkham said.

“Everything is still in our favour moving forward. We just have to make sure we’re nice and rested when we come out of this break so we’re energised to play the Lions.

“It’s the execution in crucial moments [that’s letting us down], that’s your composure. That wasn’t quite there when the pressure was on [against the Blues]. But I think we’re improving as a team.”