IN round six of the Super Rugby Pacific 2026 competition, the Fijian Drua will have another home game in Lautoka’s Churchill Park. The Queensland Reds have toured Fiji at least three times: in 2023, 2024, and 2025; and have lost on all occasions.
Now coming fresh off a two-game win streak at home, having beaten the ACT Brumbies in Ba just last weekend and the Wellington Hurricanes the week before that. The Fijian Drua will put their perfect winning record at home against the Reds on the line once again.
Head coach Glen Jackson praised the Drua fans for the incredible atmosphere at Govind Park from last weekend, saying, “What happened in Ba was awesome. It was unreal, but we’ve got to move on very quickly.”
“The boys enjoyed it, but it’s been straight back to work. We’ve got the Reds now in Lautoka. It’s a really important game for us.”
Jackson urges the importance of consistency in terms of winning games and collecting points as the season progresses. Currently, the Drua are still in ninth place overall, even though they have won their last two consecutive games.
“It’s good to win, but we’re still in the same position on the table. That’s the state of the game at the moment and how important it is to win every game or to pick up points in every game.”
Shifting focus to the Reds, coach Jackson says, “The Reds probably defend differently against the Brumbies. They also kick a lot, so we have to make sure we look after that in the back three. They have kicked more than anyone in the competition. They are a good tackling team and very strong over the ball. They are a fantastic team and very well coached.”
“The big thing is that we don’t get bored with our kicking game and understand our back field is really important. It is also important when we have the ball, we have to look after it.”
“We’ve worked hard. Discipline around the offside is still an issue for us. That’s been one of our talking points. Again, the breakdowns are going to be massively important.”
“The mental pressure is always going to be there for these young men. We just have to make sure they absorb it and put it out there on the rugby field”, said Jackson.
“We know where we are on the overall table. In our first game at home (against Moana Pasifika), we didn’t do what we should have done in terms of playing in Lautoka. So it’s good to get back there and hopefully do what we did with the Hurricanes.”
Coach Jackson has made only two changes in the starting line-up. Kitione Salawa starts at openside flanker for Motikai Murray, while Zuriel Togiatama retains his position as the starting hooker. Sairusi Ravudi returns to the bench this week.
The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:35 pm in Churchill Park, Lautoka, this Saturday.