One for the times

WHAT a beauty that was! What a game! And what a moment in time! When all things are said and done, let’s all savour yesterday’s breathtaking effort by the Fijian Drua to the brim.

Let’s rejoice, and be happy. Let’s be proud of our team, and raise that to the heavens.

Let’s be motivated and reach out for whatever it is we have set ourselves as a goal.

Who would have thought we would send the Super Rugby Pacific competition champions to the cleaners?

We have always said that it will take guts and commitment to defeat the Drua at home.

The Highlanders and Chiefs were rocked by the Drua in our opening season last year, and the fans provided the base for that powerful display.

Yesterday, when it mattered, it was the fans who lifted the Drua, providing lungpower, and motivation to push beyond their limits.

25-24! Phew! Dream? No way! When the dust settled at Churchill Park yesterday, the fans stood as one, fisted the air in a collective show of overwhelming support for their team.

We love the underdogs! And yesterday, the underdogs came clean. The underdogs, the Drua, ran in with the challenge that stirred emotions right at the start of the game.

And when they were pushed back by rolling mauls, and the big names in the Crusaders pack in the opening minutes, fans kept their hopes up.

You could sense there was something there that could ignite a Drua comeback.

And when the might of the Crusaders pack tore at the smaller Drua, fans stuck to their guns.

The cheers and mood swung like a pendulum, ignited by moments of breathtaking and nail-biting action on the field.

We were pushed back in the early scrums, had a jittery lineout, but we tackled like men possessed. We gave as good as we got.

And when it mattered, we fell back on the pick and drives, sometimes in the face of heavy traffic, to carve paths straight through the Crusaders defence.

Surely the heat would have gotten to the Crusaders. Surely the humidity may have had a hand in slowing them down. But the conditions were equal for both sides when all is said and done. Professional rugby is demanding.

And the Drua showed yesterday that we have the calibre of players who can match the very best in the business.

Yesterday will have to go down in the history of the competition as a match to remember.

This one was huge.

Loaded with New Zealand All Blacks stars, the Crusaders had everything you’d want in a champion side. They packed history, experience, pace, size and weight.

In their faces stood a smaller Drua pack that had pace to burn, courage to rock up to play against the champions and most importantly, heart.

When they connected in the final quarter, fans got their money’s worth of Super Rugby action right here… live and direct!

In fact, we now wonder what is keeping us from reaching out for the top prizes in world rugby?

How about we include the Drua coaching staff in the make-up of the Flying Fijians set-up?

Think about it!

In saying that though, we reflect on yesterday’s topnotch performance and say what game! What a memory! Bring on Super Rugby!