The first Drua double header at home was a tremendous success.
The Rooster Chicken Fijiana Drua took to the field first at the HFC Bank Stadium and they were quick to pounce on the Melbourne Rebels women right from the get-go.
Vitalina Naikore was in phenomenal form and scored 2 brilliant tries in the first 10mins of the game to ignite a rampant attack from the Fijiana. Naikore is the Super W best player from last season.
Openside flanker Sulita Waisega was always in support and proved to be decisive in key moments of the game.
The Fijiana Drua played a very well-constructed game plan and their attack was just superb.
They showed quality rugby and scored a total of 7 tries to 2 against the Rebels.
Meanwhile, Fijian Drua recorded another win in front of their home crowd in Suva, yesterday. The Drua were excited to play and put on a show right after the referee’s first whistle.
The Drua carried hard and kept surging against the Melbourne Rebels defense line, which looked to be shell-shocked throughout the entire first half of the game.
Strong defense was key for the Drua and they tackled hard all afternoon.
Drua Captain Meli Derenalagi commended his team’s effort saying, “The boys played their hearts out today, in order to defend our turf. So credit to the boys for playing out there like they don’t want to give their home ground to any team that comes”.
Derenalagi also stressed the importance of communicating within the team in yesterday’s performance.
“I thank my teammates too for backing me up and helping me, like Teti Tela and Tex Ikanivere, we try to talk to each other on what is better for the team, not just by leading it, but to be better as a team”, said Derenalagi.
Coach Mick Byrne was very pleased with his team and detailed areas where they have improved as a team.
“We’ve come a long way in a short period of time in our professionalism. Our understanding of the game is full credit to the coaches, as after the crusaders game, they’re continually sitting down with the players in educating. And full credit to the players for taking on board that learning and being able to come out under pressure and give a performance that is very, very close to what we set out to do”, said Byrne.
The Fijian Drua will now continue their 2023 Super Rugby campaign on the road and will take on the ACT Brumbies at GIO stadium in Canberra on 14 April.
The dream for a first berth in the playoffs is still alive for the Drua as they are currently in 7th place overall on the leaderboard just after six rounds this season.
All in all, it was a perfect sunny day in Suva (perfect condition for some good rugby) and both Drua teams delivered some of the best rugby we’ll ever get to see here at home.
