Country dominate Fijians in NRC semi
The sting of last week’s three-point loss to Perth Spirit after the siren was fresh in the minds of the Queensland Country players as they ran out to face Fijian Drua yesterday.
Qld Country opened the score in the first five minutes of the National Rugby Championships semi-final at Clive Berghofer Stadium.
At half time Qld Country found themselves in the exact same position they were against Perth last week with a 26-7 going into the break.
Toowoomba’s Hamish Stewart said the team was determined not to end the game with the same result.
“We had one objective this week and that was to fix our second half,” he said.
“It was still a bit patchy but we’re getting there.”
The crowd waited with baited breath to see how Qld Country would start the last half.
Chris Feauai-Sautia scored a five pointer three minutes in and Paddy James finished a through-the-team try, started by Tupou, seven minutes later.
Fiji’s Vesi Rarawa crossed two more times to keep the visiting team in the game but each time Country answered with a five pointer of its own.
“We had been lacking that urgency in the second half,” Stewart said.
“When the scores got tight we pulled away so we’re pretty happy with our effort.”
Spurred on by the roar of the home crowd, Stewart said sheer determination got Qld Country the win.
“We were big on getting the first set and getting our defence off the line and we did that,” he said.
“It was very special to come back here and play, especially in a semi-final.”
The Qld team will now turn their focus to next weekend’s grand final against Canberra, however it won’t just be a matter of winning the trophy.
They will also be out to atone for their round one loss to the Vikings. Queensland Country defeated Fijian Drua 57-21.