The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua’s hunt for their first away win of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific season continues after a clinical New South Wales Waratahs side pulled away for a 13-36 victory in Sydney on Friday night.
Despite a spirited opening 40 minutes that saw the Drua go toe-to-toe with the hosts, the Tahs exploited a tiring defensive line in the second half to secure a dominant result.
Speaking post-match, Drua head coach Glen Jackson pointed to a grueling schedule and the transition from the humid tropics as deciding factors.
“Six-day turnaround, it probably didn’t help us,” he said.
“It was a fast game, obviously us coming from Lautoka in the heat. Us and Moana both had a six-day turnaround after Lautoka; both having away games didn’t help our course.”
The scoreboard didn’t quite reflect the early grit shown by the Drua.
Jackson was quick to praise his side’s defensive resolve during the opening exchanges, saying that the foundation was much stronger than their round one performance.
“I thought the boys played really well. In the first 20, they defended really well.
“We started better than what we did last week, which was very important for us.”
However, the deadlock broke as the fresh legs of the Waratahs’ bench began to dictate the tempo.
By the time the second half was in full swing, the quality of the Sydney-based outfit proved too much to contain.
“The boys were right in there until half-time, but the Tahs got some quality players—they were fresh and they ran away in the second half.
“It’s just unfortunate that they ran away like that,” Jackson added.
While the loss is a setback, the improved starting intensity provides a silver lining for Jackson as they look ahead to round three.
The Drua will now look to recover and recalibrate as they head back to the drawing board for round three, searching for that elusive consistency over the full 80 minutes.
