WEBSTER: ALL AWAY GAMES WILL BE VERY TOUGH

FORMER Fiji Rugby Union general manager rugby Geoff Webster believes preparation will be key if the Fijian Drua is to get a foothold in next year’s Super Rugby competition.

“This will be critical for the Drua,” Webster said on social media.

“As Simon (Simon Raiwalui, FRU General manager High Performance Unit) and I both know first-hand, Fijian teams with a good, hard prep, can compete well.”

Webster, who was at the helm of Fiji Rugby during the Drua’s successful stint in the National Rugby Championship, said things would be different as stepping up to Super Rugby was another level.

“The difference between the NRC and Super though was that other NRC teams were part-timers, our Drua were full-time.

“In Super Rugby that advantage is nullified.

“In the Drua’s favour is that we made the play-offs in every year of the NRC, winning in year two (2019).

“Fijian teams can do well when the preparation is spot on.”

However, Webster believes achieving the playoffs was far easier said than done especially with a young team with a majority of onshore talent detailed for the first wave.

“While play-offs are a reasonable aspiration, and one I’d love to see happen, I can’t see it yet.

“When researching our submission to join Super in 2018, my research, across multiple codes, led me to believe that no team, not just a Fijian team, could enter an existing pro competition and be competitive until at least year three.

“With a young roster, starting from scratch and all games away, it’ll be very tough going in 2022.

“The Kiwi and Australian teams are battle-hardened and Moana Pasifika have Kiwi-based playing pedigree.

“In my opinion, if the Drua can win two games and be competitive in the rest, that would be a good initial season.”

Under the guidance of high calibre athletics manager and strength and conditioning coach Nacanieli Cawanibuka, Webster said the Drua was in good hands to get that preparation on point.

“He has two gold medals, and set the Drua up in the NRC.

“He is without peer in the Pacific and knows what it takes to get a Fijian team ready.”

Raiwalui said the preparation was well underway.

“We will not be starting from zero and we have more than three months to prepare,” Raiwalui said.

“We have started now so we have the rest of October, November, December, January and February,” he said.