The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua established their first win in the Super Rugby Pacific in Lautoka yesterday following a 20-10 victory over defending champion Crusaders at Churchill Park.
Drua head coach Mick Byrne reminded the players to keep possession.
“I talked about it all week hanging on to the ball and playing our game. And I thought we did that well. It was crazy that both sides were struggling to hang on the ball or in the contact area, but I thought we did well.
“We’ve done that, and we got the result,” Byrne said. Defence was also the main key area that they focused on.
“The physicality of the players has always to keep getting up, keep going again, and feel credited because we came in at halftime and we were still struggling.
Second half we just need to go after the guy and we did that we went after the guy and every single player,” Byrne said.
“Defence essentially in various aspects with the base first of all was such a huge improvement.”
It was a scrappy start for both teams in the first 10 minutes of play, with both sides appearing unsettled and making a few ball-handling errors.
The Fijian Drua side and the Crusaders failed to capitalize on the opportunities.
In the 12th minute, Crusaders struck first, with fly-half Taha Kemara scoring points from a penalty after foul play from the Drua.
Six minutes later, Sevu Reece broke through the Drua defence line, scoring the Crusaders’ first try in the 18th minute.
Kemara successfully converted the try.
The Drua found their rhythm in the 23rd minute when Isaiah Ravula scored their first points through a penalty.
Just minutes before half-time, the Drua backline showcased Fijian flair, leading to a try by Selestino Ravutaumada in the corner.
Ravula successfully converted the try.
Despite the Crusaders being awarded another penalty in the 39th minute, they failed to level the score, leaving it at a 10-all draw at halftime.
In the second half, the Fijian Drua lifted their intensity.
With their backline showing dominance and the support of loud fans, they applied pressure on the Crusaders’ defence line.
In the 45th minute, they scored their second try through Frank Lomani, and Ravula’s successful conversion gave the Drua a 7-point lead.
The Fijian Drua displayed brilliant defence, thwarting the Crusaders’ scoring opportunities.
Despite the Crusaders having chances in the last 10 minutes of play, the Drua posed a formidable challenge, resulting in another turnover just before the second half.
Ravula capitalised on this, successfully kicking another penalty, securing a 20-10 victory for Drua at full-time.
Crusaders head coach Rob Penney said they did not utilise most of their crucial opportunities well which cost them the game.
“Sometimes it comes down to little moments which we were not able to capitalise on,” Penney said.
