The win against the Western Force puts the Fijian Drua back into ninth position in the competition. Photo credit: Facebook / Fijian Drua.
Source: RNZ Pacific
The Fijian Drua managed to hang on and beat Western Force in Lautoka on Saturday, taking the game home 24-22 in round nine of Super Rugby Pacific.
While fans celebrated the win, stand-in captain Isoa Nasilasila hinted it was a lucky result for the side, still struggling to find consistency in their fifth year in the competition.
Western Force were unlucky to miss some late opportunities to claim the win, and the final whistle was more of a relief for the worn out Drua players, with Nasilasila admitting later it was not a performance they would celebrate too much.
In Rotorua, earlier on Saturday afternoon, the story was pretty much the same for the struggling Moana Pasifika, who were thrashed 62-17 by the Chiefs.
The Chiefs just had too much firepower and outplayed their hosts in all departments of the game.
It was the grit and fighting spirit of the Moana Pasifika side that kept them in the game for the 80 minutes, managing to score their 17 points as a result.
While they had promise early in the first half, with two near tries held up on the tryline by the Chiefs defenders, they fell off for about 50 minutes in the game, allowing the Chiefs to dance, swerve, run through and score their points for the big win.
Drua reaction
Nasilasila said consistent mistakes almost of the same nature week in, week out, continue to trouble the team.
“We’d spoken about it a lot during the week, just making sure we’re reading those key moments,” he said post-match.
“I think the last quarter, we made a lot of mistakes. We played a lot in our own half. It was good for the boys to just band together, work together, a lot of tackles, lot of long phases that we had to defend.
“Throughout the week, we’ve been really focusing on make sure we’re winning those key moments.
“We’ve had a lot of those times during the last few games where we’ve lost those key moments, and we’ve sort of disbanded so we were able to just stick to our process when we made some mistakes.”
Head coach Glen Jackson said the fact that the players “hung in there” was a good sign.
He was “happy for the boys that they got to win” as he believed the game could have “gone the other way”.
“Our first half was good. I thought we controlled the ball really well,” said Jackson, who is under fire for the team’s poor performances so far.
“We certainly kicked well, so that was a really good positive. It was a pretty ordinary second half in terms of what they did, but we defended really well … the boys put their bodies on the line.”
The win puts the Drua back into ninth position, 10 points off the defending champions Crusaders, who are currently sixth on the competition points table.
Jackson had some last-minute changes he had to make with top prop Haereiti Hetet missing out of the starting lineup after he picked up an injury before the game.
It forced Penaia Cakobau to slot in at prop, shifting from his usual hooker spot.
Veteran former French international Virimi Vakatawa was also moved to the starting lineup, and played 80 minutes, with Jackson heaping praise on his performance.
Moana’s take
Moana Pasifika head coach Fa’alogo Tana Umaga said the Chiefs were “very good” and were in sync.
But he also believes his men gave the side too much respect and space on the field.
“I think a bit of that was our own around making errors, falling off tackles, so that doesn’t help their ability to keep the ball alive,” the new All Blacks assistant coach said.
“We just couldn’t hang with it. We had our moments in the second half, they had a big lead by then.
“We talked about momentum, and that’s what we wanted to get. We wanted to develop momentum, but we just couldn’t get that.
“And again, the speed that they (Chiefs) played at was just very hard for us to slow the ball down and they just picked us off when we were under pressure.”
Umaga said it was another big learning experience for them and they are grateful for the opportunity to have their players playing in the competition, learning from teams like the Chiefs.
“We’ve just got to turn up every week, every day for us … and we’re grateful for the opportunity that we have.
“We know we haven’t performed how we want to perform or how people expect us, and you know, we’re very, very good.
“We apologise to our supporters that, in fact, they come out week after week to support us, and they’re not getting the results that they deserve.
“But it’s not through a lack of trying. Accuracy at this level is probably what’s missing.”
Captain Miracle Faiilagi said some individuals were probably not sticking to what the team collectively decided to do and it cost them.
He said that they had “many opportunities” and were held up twice on the line.
Had those tries been awarded it would have lifted confidence, something the captain said slowly drained out as the game progressed.
“It’s quite disappointing for us as we had spoken about that this week on building momentum,” he said.
“That was the main message, to stay in the fight and just focusing on us, our execution, little stuff. First half, we had opportunities in their 22 but yeah, we go individual sometimes.”
Five lessons
- Teamwork
Both the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika would do well to remember that they have a team on the field and not individuals by themselves.
When players start playing individuals they get trapped and lose possession that way as defenders pounce on any lone ball carrier who has stepped out of the support he should be playing with.
- Momentum
Building momentum and retaining possession go hand in hand. It is an area both teams need to keep working on.
Loose possession kills momentum and force teams on their back foot.
- Making it count
Drua almost lost the game against the Force because they had turned down an opportunity to extend their lead by three points towards the end of the game, following a penalty awarded to them in front of the goalposts.
They opted to tap instead and lost the ball in the ensuring play. It was lucky Force’s Ben Donaldson missed with a penalty attempt that could have given them victory.
On the other hand, Moana Pasifika had two certain tries held up on the line, after players rushed their opportunities and went as individuals, losing the support that could have ensured they got 10 points from those two opportunities.
- Player management
Both teams are losing key players through injury. The battles on the field have been intensive and tough.
Drua had to use a hooker to play prop on Saturday because there was no one else who could play.
Moana had to make changes and reshuffles also. It’s a big part of any team’s campaign and Umaga’s revelation during the week that players maybe should start playing different options at positions should be seriously considered, with utility players available to cover different roles when needed.
- Fighting spirit
Both teams have shown they have the fighting spirit to keep going now.
They just need to transfer that into working on starting well, playing consistently throughout and finishing strong.
Finishing in the top six maybe far off now for both teams but learning the lessons and implementing them in their matches left for the usual season would augur well for both teams, and help them build for the new season.
Round nine results: Brumbies 14 Highlanders 10, Chiefs 62 Moana Pasifika 17, Fijian Drua 24 Western Force 22, Hurricanes 42 Blues 19, Reds 31 Crusaders 26.
Round 10 draws: Blues vs Highlanders, Waratahs vs Moana Pasifika, Chiefs vs Hurricanes, Brumbies vs Fijian Drua, Western Force vs Crusaders.
Points standing
- Hurricanes (29)
- Chiefs (26)
- Blues (25)
- Brumbies (24)
- Reds (22)
- Crusaders (19)
- Waratahs (14)
- Highlanders (14)
- Fijian Drua (12)
- Force (9)
- Moana Pasifika (4)