THE win against the Melbourne Rising last Saturday means intense competition among the Fiji Airways Drua team for the 30-member squad for the second National Rugby Championship match against Brisbane City at Lautoka’s Churchill Park this Saturday.
Drua coach Senirusi Seruvakula said their 40-17 victory over the Risings will be a contributing factor for the boys’ preparation for the second match.
“It’s going to get tougher and it’s going to be good for us because a lot of competition among the players before I name the 30-member squad that will march into camp in Nadi on Wednesday and we need to win these two games … that’s our goal,” Seruvakula said.
Brisbane City defeated Fiji Drua in the opening round of the NRC last year 45-36 with Wallabies capped players such as Quade Cooper, Karmichael Hunt and Brandon Paenga-Amosa who also featured last weekend after losing to the Western Force 29-47.
“Brisbane City will be reviewing our game, but we need to win these two games and that was our goal,” Seruvakula said.
Meanwhile the Drua team’s assistant coach Brad Harris said they would be expecting a physical and mental battle against the Brisbane side on Saturday.
“We will review our game and also Brisbane City’s match, check to see if we have an injury in the team but yes for sure Brisbane City is going to come strong at us,” Harris said.
Fijian-born Wallaby winger Sefanaia Naivalu said the Drua team were consistent throughout the match and he believed they had a good season ahead of them.
“The Drua team has some really potential players on their side that has the calibre to participate in international teams such as the Wallabies and the All Blacks,” Naivalu said.
The Fiji Drua will take on Brisbane City at 3.00pm at Lautoka’s Churchill Park for the second round of the NRC.
