To historic win
Byrne puts it to hard work
SWIRE Shipping Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne says the hard work put in by the players and management over the past 12 months is beginning to pay off.
The side created the biggest upset in the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific history after beating the 11-time champion Crusaders side 25-24 at Churchill Park in Lautoka yesterday.
Playing in front of a passionate crowd, the Drua equalled the Crusaders with four tries each with a late penalty from replacement flyhalf Kemu Valetini proving to be the difference.
“I’m just really proud of the way the boys played today. Full credit to the Crusaders, you know, you can see why they’ve won the last six (Super Rugby titles). This was a hostile environment for them and they came back, but again shows the growth that we’ve had over the last 12 months, our ability to absorb that to come again and then win the game,” he said.
“So I’m really proud of the way they played.”
The Crusaders scored two early tries to lead 12-0 and shut out the crowd.
The Drua fired back with four unanswered tries from centre Iosefi Masi, fullback Ilaisa Droasese, flanker Joseva Tamani and winger Eroni Sau to take a 22-12 lead with 13 minutes remaining.
The Crusaders rallied with a try from Fiji-born winger Sevu Reece and another from a rolling maul for replacement hooker Ioane Moananu, which fly-half Fergus Burke converted from the touchline to put the visitors 24-22 ahead with seconds to go.
But the Drua rallied back strongly to win a penalty which Valetini calmly put over.
Byrne said the belief in the players to go the distance played a big role.
“We just talked about the growth in our team and we know we can play 80 minutes. Last week, we talked about circumstances that cost us points, it wasn’t our fitness and it was just the belief in ourselves to play 80 minutes and we’ve talked about it for a number of weeks now. We went out and showed ourselves that we can do it and we did that.
“I think the last 15 minutes of the first half last week showed us what we can do and I think it was a matter of coming out and playing that sort of rugby. So this week, we managed to keep 15 on the field and that’s what we can do.
“It’ll just be a great encouragement for our program and what we’re doing, especially for our players.”
He added the win would be a big confidence booster for their campaign.
It’s huge and, you know, credit goes to the coaches. Greg (Fleming, forward coach) Brad (Harris, assistant coach) and Jacko (Glen Jackson, assistant coach) have been enormous over the preseason. They’ve done a tremendous amount of work in getting the players prepped for this sort of footy.
“The players do the work, they need the credit. But those coaches have worked hard and haven’t left them alone during the preseason and keep working them, keep educating them, and keep growing. So that victory today is dedicated to those guys.”
The Drua face the Reds next week.