THE Fijian Drua play their final home match of the season against the Waratahs at the HFC Stadium in Suva this Saturday.
After a bye last week, Head Coach Glen Jackson said the Drua expected a tough challenge around the breakdowns and this would be a focus area for his team.
“I don’t want to put pressure on our players for this game. We are playing in front of our fans for the last time this season, so that’s our motivation,” Jackson said.
“We are also motivated to get our most wins as a club. We are one win away from doing that. If we do that it’s ticking off boxes and we’re just taking each game as they come.”
Jackson wants the Drua forwards to control the match and retain possession from the breakdown to allow what he describes as an exciting backline to move and show its speed and agility
But the Drua must first battle its injury problems. Loosehead prop Haireiti Hetet has been ruled out for the season. The regular starter will be replaced by experienced front-rower Peni Ravai.
Frank Lomani will remain on the wing where his strong effort has strengthened the Drua defence.
“Our players are putting in more tackles than they are used to. I think Kitione Salawa tops the tackle count each week, and that’s what you want from your openside flanker. Tuidraki Samusamuvodre is also a great leader in that area for us in the mid-field and that is what we want”, Jackson emphasized.
“They’ve got a pretty stacked team. When you look at their backline, it essentially could be the Wallabies team. There are some good matchups in the midfield and we are looking forward to seeing how that goes.”
In February the Waratahs put on a 40–10 win over the Drua at the Allianz Stadium in Sydney.
But in Fiji the Drau and Waratahs have a win each. In 2023 Drua won 46–17, and in 2025 the Waratahs scraped home 39–36.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 4:35pm on Saturday.
