THE Fijian Drua claimed their first win of the season at home against the Western Force in front of a small crowd today.
It was an afternoon of digging deep on defence as the Force mounted a strong surge very early into the game.
The pressure was intense, but the Drua defended their line well for 10 minutes.
The engine room was boiling for the visitors from Perth steam rolled up the middle with a series of good solid carries. Captain Michaela Leonard showed her vast experience to dictate the pace of the game in the tight-five.
Halfback Samantha Wood was the best player for the Force. Her passes were crisp and her territorial kicking gave her team the fighting chance to push forward each time they had possession.
With some positional changes this week, second rower Mereoni Nakesa was shaky at number eight.
Offside penalties were a big problem for the Drua. They conceded five penalties around the rucks in the first half while Bitila Tawake was in poor form throwing into the lineout.
Fiji Sevens star Vani Buleki was brilliant when she was subbed in on the wing for the Force. She scored a superb try to put the Force up 14 – 5 at half-time.
Scrums were excellent with the teams evenly matched but the Drua had the upper hand once Keri Lawavou was subbed in.
On defence the Drua began to nail their tackles in the second half. And instead of kicking the ball away, they were more confident to run with the ball and break the Western Force out wide.
The water breaks from the heat protocol regulation gave some breathing space for the Force just as the Drua found the attaching momentum.
In the 66th minute the picked up the pace and grabbed a couple of good tries.
On debut, outside centre Vika Nakacia was a visionary in the backline. She was heavily involved in setting up a at least two tries.
Fullback Litiana Vueti showed brilliant individual skills when she came into the game to create a try for the Drua.
Once they got the lead the Drua defended their line right to the last whistle to win the game 29 – 24.
