Swire Shipping Fijian Drua’s head coach Glen Jackson emphasises the importance of mental focus in order to secure a victory against the Western Force in round 14 of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Following a disappointing loss to the Blues with a score of 5-34 in round 13, the team is determined to bounce back and prepare well for their upcoming match against the Force.
Jackson acknowledged that there are a few minor injuries within the team but is confident that they will be ready to face the Western Force after assessing and addressing these issues.
Reflecting on their previous game, Jackson highlighted the team’s need to improve on both their defensive and offensive strategies.
“We had a couple of small injuries, couple of bumps and bruises, so we are giving a bit of time till we choose our line up against Western Force,” said Jackson.
“I’m sure we will be better than last week, we still in the scraps, we had a very hard review on what went wrong there, and we knew the Blues played a good game, and at times we defended very well, and also we hang on to the ball and let ourselves down.”
Having studied the Western Force’s previous games, Jackson believes that they are a tough opponent, especially considering their strong performance against the Hurricanes in Perth.
“They are fighting for every point as we are, you know coming from Perth is a long way, so they are looking forward to facing us this Saturday.”
Being back in familiar surroundings in Lautoka after playing in Suva, Jackson expressed his team’s excitement to have a full week of preparation for the game.
“It’s great we have a full week here in Nadi, we have won nine times in Lautoka, so we want to keep our winning record up, we must go with mentality to win the game; Force has a very good lineout, well-disciplined, it will be a good scrap to get a win.”
The Fijian Drua will take on the Force at at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday. Kick-off is at 3.35pm.
