Naitasiri defended their title as holders of the Farebrother Trophy after taking Nadroga down to the wire for an 11-10 win at Ratu Cakobau Park in Nausori yesterday.
Coach Ilaitia Tuisese Jr said the loud cheers and shouts from their fans in the stands played a major role in their win.
“We managed to fill the stands with our fans and their shouts and cheers gave the boys the motivation they needed to play hard and secure the win here today,” he said.
He added the win was a product of endless hours of training and preparation by the players over the past few weeks.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys because all their hard work and sweat has been paid off.”
He said they had anticipated a tough battle against Nadroga and were not surprised when the side came out firing yesterday.
“It’s exactly what we expected, so the boys knew how to handle the pressure, and hats off to them for delivering the win”.
The side was first to put points on the scoreboard after a successful drop-kick from the 40-metre line seconds into the first half.
They managed to hold the scoreline for the next 40 minutes before heading into halftime at 3-0.
Nadroga came back stronger in the second half and managed to cross over for a try for a 7-3 lead. However, Naitasiri quickly replied with a try, which went unconverted for an 8-7 lead.
Nadroga managed to slowly claw their way into Naitasiri’s 22m line, before converting a penalty kick for a 10-8 lead.
Naitasiri managed to steal the win from Nadroga after converting a penalty kick two minutes before the final hooter.
