Drua faces Waratahs in ’23 Super Round
The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua will play the Waratahs in the Super Round of the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
The Super Round is a showpiece event for the competition, where all 12 teams descend on Melbourne for an actionpacked three days of exciting first-class rugby at AAMI Park.
The Drua vs Waratahs match will be a repeat of the team’s first ever Super Rugby Pacific match last season, where the Tahs won 40-10 in Sydney.
The Super Round format, was announced yesterday and would kick off in round two of the 2023 competition held between March 3-5 at the same venue between Friday and Sunday. On Saturday (March 4), fellow competition newcomers Moana Pasifika will face the Chiefs before the Drua take on the Waratahs.
Rugby fans and sports enthusiasts are expected to fill the stands to watch the best rugby players in the world go head to head.
Fijian Drua interim chief executive Brian Thorburn welcomed the Super Round announcement: “We want to make a statement early in the competition with a good
performance in the Super Round. Our Club’s objectives remain the same from last season - we are building Fijian rugby for the future, we want to do well and make our fans and the Fijian people proud.
“We had two wins last season and came close against the Force, Reds, Highlanders
and Chiefs, so are single-mindedly focused on stepping it up next season. Melbourne is a wonderful sporting city, and the Super Round as a concept is great! It’s really exciting for us to join all other teams in the competition to play there on the same weekend.”
Thorburn added: “Our skill, firepower and flair make us one of the most exciting teams to watch, and we introduced the competition to players like Meli Derenalagi, Teti Tela, Vinaya Habosi, Kalaveti Ravouvou and many others.
Last season the Drua brought the ‘Pacific’ in Super Rugby Pacific. This season, we will bring the ‘Super’ to the Super
Round in Melbourne. We invite Fijians and rugby fans in Victoria, across Australia and of course, our home in Fiji, to join or support the team as we take on the Waratahs on March 4, 2023.”
A record number of South Pacific fans are expected to travel to Melbourne to experience this unique weekend of rugby action.
Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos said: “Our year-round calendar of world-class events will be even better with the addition of Super Round Melbourne in 2023, which is set to draw thousands of interstate and international visitors to Victoria.”
SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris added: “We are building on the lessons of last year to deliver an even bigger Super Round in March next year in Melbourne. The teams and players are all focused on Super Round and are all enthusiastically behind the event which showcases some of the best rugby players in the world, and all that is good about rugby in the Pacific.”
Tickets will go on sale on Tuesday, September 27.