THE Fijian scraped home with a 24-22 win over the Western Force at Lautoka’s Churchill Park.
Penaia Cakobau was called in at the last moment to start at loose-head prop after Haereiti Hetet was injured during warm-up. Cakobau held the scrums and was exceptional with his take up skills.
The Force scored first but then looked like they were in a rut as the Drua nailed three consecutive tries before half time.
Virimi Vakatawa had a standout game. Age might be catching up to the 33-year-old rugby veteran but he was instrumental in setting up a couple of tries for the Drua with sound vision and incredible offloading skills. He was later declared the Player of the Match.
Lanky winger Isikeli Basiyalo scored an intercept try on debut after reading the opposition while on defence.
Wallabies playmaker Kurtley Beale took the field in the second half and started to create some magic as the Force mounted a strong comeback in the last 20 minutes.
But the Drua men banded together and held out to register another win over the Western Force in Fiji.
Head coach Glen Jackson was happy with the win.
‘’I thought the boys hung in there pretty well. It’s been an interesting week in terms of our training and our ability to get on to the field. I thought Isoa led really well not only in terms of his leadership but also his top draw performance,” Jackson said.
“I’m just happy for the win. It could have easily gone either way. These men gave it everything. It was nice to see that and we enjoyed the victory.”
The Drua will play the ACT Brumbies next week in Canberra.
