‘16th man’ to lift Drua

SWIRE Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Mick Byrne will be banking on the help of “the 16th man” to make life “miserable” for the visiting Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific champions Crusaders.

The 11-time Super Rugby champions arrived in the country yesterday to take on the Drua at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday.

Tickets for the 3.35pm kick-off match are selling fast and a big crowd is what Byrne hopes will lift his players when the going gets tough.

“We experienced last year that players respond well in front of family, friends, and fans,” he said.

“This week, the boys will be looking forward to our 16th player to help cheer us on as we take on the Super Rugby champions.”

The former New Zealand All Blacks skills and kicking coach said the crowd and the weather were two main factors that made playing in Fiji a challenge for visiting teams.

“The noise around the ground is gonna be great,” he said.

“We’d like to think the challenges that the teams have here are going to be experienced when they get off the plane and we just look forward to welcoming teams here though.

“The people of Fiji can’t wait to have the opposition teams here and they’re going to be well hosted, they’re going to be well looked after.

“And for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon, they’re going to be the enemy. But the rest of the time, they’re going to be tourists. Hopefully, we can make that two hours on Saturday a miserable time for them.”

Both teams go into the match with a win and loss in the early round of the competition.