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Another uphill battle awaits the Fijian Drua on Saturday when they take on the Chiefs at the FMG Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, New Zealand. This is the Super Rugby Pacific and no game will be an easy one.
The Swire Shipping sponsored- Drua captain, Meli Derenalagi said it right, that is all about the learnings they get from each game, working on it before their next outing.
This has been the process week in and week out, so for the players it is all about trusting the system put in place by the coaches and work towards the targets they have set. So far, the Drua has found their winning mojo after losing their two opening games, which were away matches.
Apart from maintaining their winning consistency, the bigger challenge for the Drua is to record their first away win in this season’s Shop N Save Super Rugby comp. Drua head coach Mick Byrne has set a target of winning four of their away home matches. They came close against Moana Pasifika during the Super Round in Melbourne but nothing is stopping the Drua from doing it in Hamilton.
However, after the 20-10 win over the Crusaders in Lautoka, last Saturday, there are three things the Drua must work on before the Chiefs game:
#1: Don’t play catch-up rugby
Apart from the win over the Crusaders, the Derenalagi-led side at one stage in the first half was trailing 10-0. Fortunately, they managed to regroup and hit back to level 10-10 at halftime before running away with the win.
Against Moana Pasifika, they were behind most of the time and so was their opening match against the Blues in Whangarei. This Saturday, the Chiefs will be a different side as they want to bounce back from their upset loss to the Reds.
The Drua cannot afford to let the Chiefs get ahead on the scoreboard. The hosts will use first-five eighth Damian McKenzie to convert every penalty that comes their way into points to surge ahead on the scoreboard and when he is not there they are going to use Shaun Stevenson and Josh Ioane who are also accomplished goalkickers.
#2: Up the tempo with their physicality
The Drua must not allow the physicality of the Chiefs forwards led by Luke Jacobson, Aidan Ross, Samisoni Taukei’aho, Samipeni Finau and Tupou Vaa’i to intimidate them. Surely, the Drua backs must also take on the challenge when they run into the likes of Anton Leinert-Brown, Stevenson, Quinn Tupaea, Etene Nanai-Seturo, Emoni Narawa or Peniasi Malimali.
They must stand up to them and take them head-on. They must match the Chiefs when it comes to physicality and see who bows down first. To win in Hamilton in front of the Chiefs fans is not for the feint-hearted. This is a perfect opportunity for Drua to show the rugby world that they have got what it takes to beat the Super Rugby giants on a weekly basis.
#3: Every final execution must count
Byrne reiterated the importance of his players ‘respecting the ball’ when in possession. This ‘respect the ball’ things should go right to the final pass, kick or forward drive that ends with a try.
The last three matches have seen the Drua fumbled a number of try scoring opportunities due to the final execution of a pass, kick or forward drive towards the try-line.
The Drua could have scored two more tries against the Crusaders, if only the final pass had not gone forward or the ball was knocked on from a forward drive close to the try-line. The players should note that all their hard work from executing a move goes to waste if they don’t turn them into points.
Now they must take great care in throwing that final pass or holding on to the ball, so that all the efforts they put in must count in the end.