Cambridge head coach Duncan Holland is looking forward to his first race in charge of the Light Blues.

The New Zealander stepped in to replace Robin William, who moved to a role with the GB rowing squad after last year’s race.

"The Boat Race is superb. I’ve been rowing all my life and I have always known about the Boat Race," said Holland. "It’s one of the great sporting festivals. It’s a huge event and part of our heritage.

"It’s a great deal of fun working with a group as talented as this eight and coaching at one of the great sporting events in the world has got to be fun," he added.

"The essentials of the Boat Race are the same as any other race. It’s a boat with nine people in it and it’s about moving the boat faster and I’ve been involved in trying to get boats to go fastest since I was 14.

"I believe in the last few years both Blue Boats have been or World Championship final quality," he said.

And Holland said the Light Blues could call on an impressive calibre of rowers this time around.

"We’ve got a superb group of athletes with World and Olympic medals coming out of their ears. But at the end of the day there are nine men in a boat and the basics of moving a boat fast through the water are the same," he said.

"I’m confident we have the nine best individuals in the boat, now it’s a process of moulding them together. Like any team full of talent, there are some rough edges to be knocked off.

"I’m confident we’ll go fast on the day, but I’m also confident Oxford will go fast on the day. We’re controlling the controllables and will see what happens," he said.

The 2006 Boat Race gets underway at 4.35pm on Sunday 2nd April and is sponsored by Xchanging.