Injuries force changes to line-up
SWIRE Shipping Fiji Drua head coach Mick Byrne has confirmed lineup changes for the upcoming clash against the Blues this Saturday, prompted by injuries in the Drua camp after their two pre-season matches.
Ilaisa Droasese is set to miss one to two weeks due to a knee injury, while Taniela Rakuro faces a four-week absence, according to the coach’s confirmation.
Despite the setbacks, Byrne expresses confidence in the team’s preparation and anticipates a challenging encounter on the Blues’ home turf.
“Preparations been good, obviously, we made some changes to our list and our squad, and we’ve got a lot of depth around and the quality of training has gone up we’ve got our academy players in and that those players are contributing well at training as well.
“So, our training quality has gone up which you’d like to think happens after a couple of years of work and also our fitness has improved, and you know, our game speed work has improved as well,” Byrne said.
Byrne believes the Blues will not be an easy match.
“The Blues are always a great team. I know they’ve been the one in finals over the last few years and we know we’re playing them in the first round at home with a new coach and a new set up. There’s going to be a lot of enthusiasm. They’re going to bring a physical game. If you look at the way they’ve played the first couple of games they’re going to bring a real physical game. So for us, it’s about making sure we prepare ourselves well and travel well,” coach added.
Byrne says they are also working hard on mental preparation on the field. Senior player Tevita Ikanivere had the opportunity to speak to the players for the day.
“The best way to get your mental prep drive is to get your clarity right so there’s been a lot of focus on that early in the week learning strategies, the way we present the way we show the footage the way we train on the field.
“I think if the players get their clarity, right, that builds their confidence. And once they build their confidence and understanding about how we want to play, that’s when the physicality can come. And that’s when you build your confidence through understanding and knowledge.
“So we’ve had good chats here the players have led one of those chats around knowledge and wisdom and understanding and Tevita had a really good chat here to the boys about it about knowledge and wisdom and understanding and, and how they work and how they work together in the team.
“So you know there’s definitely been a good process put in place around our mental side of it. And we understand as coaches that if we can give the players good clarity and good knowledge early in the week. Then we can let them go 100 per cent at the end of the week.”