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The Fijian Drua have a Super Rugby Pacific victory.
On a historic evening for the competition, the fledgling new franchise fought back from a 14-0 deficit to the Melbourne Rebels midway through the first half to dominate the rest of the match, with only a late try from Ray Nu’u allowing the match to finish with a 31-26 scoreline.
Key to the Drua’s memorable maiden win was an outstanding kicking game, led by Teti Tela’s nerveless penalty-taking, with the competition newbies’ game awareness and tactics surely delighting coach Mick Byrne.
The Rebels, though, will be humiliated to be the first side to fall to one of the two new teams, as their disastrous start to 2022 continued.
“The harsh truth about the Rebels is, they’ve probably got three or four players out there at the start of the game that aren’t Super Rugby players,” former Wallaby Morgan Turinui said on Stan Sport after the game.
“You can talk about injuries or excuses or whatever, that’s the reality, but even so, the way the Drua have been thrown together the improvement that they need to make in and of themselves, the Rebels, as an experienced and settled Super Rugby program, should win that every day of the week. That’s not good enough from them.
“They need Pone Fa’amausili, Rob Leota, Andrew Kellaway… they need the cavalry back, and they need it quick smart.”
But there was nothing but praise for the Drua, with fellow Stan Sport presenter Michael Cheika only surprised by their lack of some typical Fijian exuberance we’ve come to expect from their rugby sevens sides after their victory.
“I can’t believe there’s not much action going on out there – they’ve won their first game!” Cheika laughed.
“In Round 3 of Super Rugby. I don’t know how long it took the Force to win their first game when they came in. I can’t believe there’s not more jumping around!
“It’s a fantastic effort, really. Melbourne were poor, but they still have the experience in playing in this competition to get over the line when they have to.
“The Drua just stuck to their guns – it’s fantastic for them.”
In many ways, the Drua didn’t just outplay the Rebels – they outsmarted them, too. Case in point was Apisalome Vota’s try just after half time to give them their first lead of the match, the Rebels caught totally off guard by a Drua quick tap after a penalty and leaving a clear path for the Fijians to storm through.
Central to it was their kicking game, led by Tela’s pinpoint accuracy from pillar to post.
The Drua gameplan, seemingly antithetical to their usual open, fast-flowing style but perfectly suited to greasy conditions at Sunshine Coast Stadium, delighted New Zealand rugby great Andrew Mehrtens.
“There were moments that we come to expect from Fiji rugby players, but their enjoyment and their willingness to play a game that’s not their natural game, and by that I mean putting in lots of kicks,” Mehrtens said on Stan Sport.
“They put in kicks to regain possession, to stop the Rebels’ defensive line from coming up. They really went to a game that was suitable for the conditions, but not their natural first game.”
With the Rebels breaking even or winning a number of key stats, including lineouts and mauls won, tackles and turnovers conceded, the stats page would suggest an even night.
Vinaya Habosi of the Fijian Drua breaks away from the Melbourne Rebels’ defence. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
But for Turinui, there was one fundamental aspect which allowed the Drua to gain the upper hand.
“The great compliment to the Drua, and the indictment on the Rebels is, truthfully, the Drua players wanted it more,” he said.
“They showed more urgency, showed more effort, and that was the difference.
“Every other stat in the game is either even, or it’s in favour of the Rebels, except missed tackles. The Rebels missed twice as many tackles as the Drua, and the Drua took their chances.”
Equally impressive for Turinui was the Drua’s steel, with their effort enough to prove they could take to rugby union with the same success as they have the rugby sevens circuit.
“They played like a 15s team,” Turinui said.
“It wasn’t a bit of sevens, and unstructured. It was managing – from the 35th to the 79th minute, they dominated that game in terms of game management.”
The win is sure to spark joyous celebrations in Fiji, as a nation with a proud history of producing rugby talent proved a bright future lies ahead.
For Cheika, even more exciting than the win is the thought of what might be to come in weeks and years down the track.
“For them to then come out and have a win against an Australian super rugby team… I don’t reckon we’ve conceptualised how important that is for the game over there and for here,” the former Wallabies coach said.
“There’s no way that anyone wasn’t thinking it was going to be tough for them to score a win [this season]. Even the most loyal supporters. Mick Byrne and Simon Raiwalui, they were hoping but they were never imagining.
“Even though it was played out in a field that wasn’t in Fiji, obviously, considering the impact that Fijian players have had on Australian rugby in particular, their place in this game since we were playing has been huge.”
While the Rebels themselves did manage an inaugural win quicker than the Drua, taking two matches compared to three, their competitiveness to start their first season has already impressed Turinui – and now, they have an early victory to show for it.
“You look at it – the Kings, the Cheetahs, the Rebels, the Force, the Sunwolves, all the teams that made entries into Super Rugby – no one’s done it as well as the Drua have.” Turinui said.
For the Rebels, captain Michael Wells was again at a loss to explain his team’s latest disastrous performance, conceding that the match became ‘men playing boys’ through the second half.
“To say it’s unlucky would be disrespectful to the Drua. They came out, played a better game than us in almost every facet,” Wells said after the match.
“There’s no luck involved, they were better.
“We allowed them to dictate how the game was played… they ran through our tackles, it was men playing boys at times.
“Credit to them, they were too good.”
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.