Six matches down and another eight to go.
Four at home and four on the road.
Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Mick Byrne says this week’s bye couldn’t have come at a better time for his squad to recharge and get set for the season defining games coming up.
It was a terrific occasion in Suva last weekend with both the Drua women and men winning an historic ‘double’ against the Melbourne Rebels.
It wasn’t a sell out like officials had hoped for, but hopefully the positive results on the field will inspire fans to purchase tickets to the remaining home games.
Coach Bryne says the first half effort was the best his team had put in so far.
It was raining tries.
The Drua scored five before half time and went into the break leading 33-7.
It was pretty much game over.
Full credit to the Rebels for hanging in there.
They won the second half scoring three tries to one and in doing so they stopped the Drua from picking up a valuable bonus point.
Hopefully that won’t come back to bite them in the run up to the play-offs.
Iosefo Masi won the Hoover Player of the Match award but was pushed all the way by Selestino Ravutaumada.
But again, I was impressed by the overall team effort.
The forwards won the collisions in the first half to set up space for the outside backs.
When asked what he’ll be doing in the week off, Masi said he’d be concentrating on his recovery and learning from his mistakes.
Coaches love to hear that from players and it typifies the spirit in the Drua camp this year.
Masi has been a standout for me.
After a slow start, Kalaveti Ravouvou is getting back to his best and it was great seeing Michael Naitokani on debut off the bench in Suva.
He didn’t look out of place.
If Api Vota can overcome a niggling ankle injury there’ll be plenty of cover in the mid-field.
By my calculations, the Drua has used 34 players so far this season.
That’s a huge turnover rate in just six weeks but it means it’s building depth in the player’s ranks.
The forward pack has been unsettled all season except for Ikanivere, Nasilasila and Salawa.
It’s hoped that we’ll see some of the injured tight five players back in motion over coming weeks and that will help develop some consistency up front.
Coaches often talk about the ‘one per centers’ and they love to ‘tick boxes’.
Well, the Drua has been obliging this year.
After beating the Rebels they’ve now won ‘back-to-back’ home games for the first time ever and they ended a run of seven straight losses against Aussie teams.
They are three from six.
They only won two games all season in 2022, so I’m giving them a plus mark so far.
If results go their way this weekend and the Reds or Rebels lose the Drua will stay in the top 8 and the bye won’t hurt them.
With home games against the Blues, Hurricanes, Moana and Reds they can be expected to remain very competitive in front of their loyal and vocal fans.
But it’s games on the road that could make or break their season.
The Brumbies will be coming off big games against the Crusaders, Waratahs and Reds, but they are always tough to beat in Canberra.
Then it’s a hop across the ditch to play the top of the table Chiefs.
After two games back in Fiji the Drua then embark on another tough trip to Perth and Sydney.
While none of the away games will be easy, it’s imperative that the Drua pick up competition points because the race for a spot in the Top 8 will be close.
It won’t be the same not having the Drua to cheer on this weekend but enjoy the break and recharge your battery just like the players.
Because things are going to get very hectic in the race to the play-offs.
