Suva continues to record positive results in the Skipper Cup competition after accounting for a young and inexperienced Nadroga XVs 26-19 on a soggy Lawaqa Park ground two in Sigatoka during a Round 8 clash yesterday.
The Capital City boys outscored the hosts four tries to three and earned a vital bonus point victory to keep their dreams of a playoff outing alive.
The teams were tied 12-all after the end of an error-ridden first half that was marred by frequent dropped balls from both sides due to the slippery ball, however, loosehead prop Mateo Qolisese and replacement Taniela Rakuro’s tries for the defending champions in the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza eased the pressure on the Sakaraia Labalaba-coached ‘Blue Brigade’ and laid the platform for a well-deserved victory.
Although the Stallions tried hard to register points on the board, Suva’s feisty defence did enough to quell any threat.
Labalaba thanked his boys for the win.
“We thank Nadroga for giving us a good game although they’re in a rebuilding phase at the moment,” he said.
“The bonus point win today is a great result. “Every game is a final for us and we prepare accordingly for each game. “I’m pretty stoked with the boys performance today.”
The losing team’s head coach Etonia Nabahiki blamed the atrocious ground conditions for his side’s loss.
“The ground didn’t suit our style of play,” he said.
“We will regroup for our next match after analysing our mistakes from this match.”
Meanwhile, in other matches played from the morning, Suva thrashed Nadroga 36-7 in the women’s U19 division while in the ANZ Marama senior competition, Suva pipped Nadroga 25-21.
In the U19 for men, Nadroga won 17-0 against Suva while the Suva Development defeated their counterparts 10-0.
