SWIRE Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson has called for focus and improvement as they prepare for their Round 7 Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Auckland Blues tomorrow.
The Drua head into the match looking to bounce back from last week’s loss to the Reds, a result that sparked mixed reactions from fans on social media.
Jackson acknowledged the supporters’ passion, saying he understands their frustrations but urged his players to remain focused on their preparations.
“I just really appreciate the supporters that come and watch the game and support us wholeheartedly. I know our players are obviously disappointed they didn’t get the win. We move on to the Blues, and I hope there’s a good turnout of fans there and social media will continue to be social media. It’s a beautiful place just to vent your frustration.
“Obviously, that’s how people feel like they want to communicate. They have the right to do it. I don’t want our players tied up with anything like that. Like I said, that’s the way of the world and people can do what they want on that,” Jackson added.
Looking ahead to the Blues encounter, Jackson stressed that preparation remains consistent despite playing away from home.
“It’s just rugby. So, whether it’s home or away, we’ve got to prepare. The boys have been preparing well. As we know, we seem to go well against the Brumbies and Hurricanes, two of the best teams.
“And then, like I said, we’re a game of lost opportunities against the Reds just puts the motivation back on this team to perform. We’ve got a six-day turnaround after the Blues, so we’ll be staying in New Zealand, which is something we haven’t done before as well.
“So it’s just trying to do things a little bit different around what we do to get this campaign back on track.”
Reflecting on last week’s performance, Jackson dismissed suggestions that fatigue from earlier wins played a role, instead pointing to missed opportunities.
“So those two wins over the top teams, Hurricanes and Brumbies, in hindsight, probably took a little bit too much out of them. Yeah, I suppose the way you look at it. We dropped the ball 36 times, and like I said, we had eight genuine chances to score tries, so we didn’t do that. And to stay in the game, seven, six, I think at halftime, we dropped the ball twice over the goal line, that would have been a different aspect of the whole game and we would have come on. I don’t think the impact players that we wanted probably didn’t give us what we were after.”
With motivation renewed, the Drua will be aiming for a more clinical performance against a confident Blues outfit tomorrow.
