THE Birdland Kadavu team secured a hard-fought place in the semi-finals of the Koroturaga competition after defeating the QVS Old Boys team 27-24 on Saturday at the HFC Bank Stadium in Suva.
Kadavu held the advantage half time.
The game continued to the very end because neither team was ready to give up, but Kadavu took advantage of a penalty opportunity and converted the kick to secure a three-point victory.
The current captain of Birdland, seasoned player John Stewart, acknowledged the match was a difficult encounter and credited the players for their determination under pressure.
“Our team had lost concentration in the second half, we thought ahead of ourselves and slackened off, and that’s how our opponent got to us,” Stewart said.
“The boys thought we had it, went to a tie and managed to get it done with.”
Despite the win the captain highlighted areas that need improvement ahead of the semi-finals, particularly one-on-one tackling and reducing costly mistakes against stronger opposition.
“The most important area we need to work on is our defence, there was a lot of missed tackles especially on one on one and we can’t afford these mistakes as competition intensifies,” he said.
He added the competition provides valuable exposure for the team’s young players, many of whom aspire to earn selection into higher level representative teams.
“We have a very young team and we’re trying to expose them to this level, especially for the boys trying to fight for a spot in the Kadavu skipper team.”
Kadavu’s ultimate goal remains earning promotion to the Escott shield competition next year.
