Fijian strong men rule the Rebels boys
FIJIAN Drua secured their first-ever Super Rugby win as they overcame winless Aussie strugglers Melbourne Rebels 31-26.
The newcomers trailed 14-0 courtesy of Young Tonumaipea’s and James Hanson’s converted tries, either side of Ratu Rotuisolia’s yellow card.
But the Drua replied just before half-time with a Onisi Ratave try that was followed by further scores in the second half by Vilive Miramira and Apisalome Vota to take the lead.
The Rebels hit back through Tonumaipea’s second but 12 points from the boot of fly-half Teti Tella secured the historic win despite Ray Nu’u’s consolation score.
Drua captain Meli Derenalagi said: “It’s a huge achievement for us to come here and deliver after what we’ve learnt in the last few weeks. If we have an opportunity to go and score a try, we’ll grab it with both hands and that’s what we did tonight.”
Centre Vota added: “We are here in our first competition in Super Rugby, and we’ll keep on trying to get better each week, but we’re pleased we got our first win.”
The Rebels are currently without 14 men through injury and suspension, but Friday’s loss was the biggest blow yet for Kevin Foote’s side.
Frustrated Rebels captain Michael Wells was gracious to Drua in defeat and even described the match as “men against boys at times.”
He said: “To say we’ve been unlucky would be disrespectful to the Drua, they came out and played a better game than us in almost every facet. There’s no luck involved they were just better.
“We allowed them to dictate how the game was played, we lost first contacts, they ran through our tackles, and it was men playing boys at times. We’ll have to have a long hard look at ourselves.”
After missing the first two rounds through Covid19 cancellations, Moana Pasifika played their first game of Super Rugby as they lost 33-12 to 12-time champions the Crusaders.
Pasifika took the lead through Solomone Funaki’s early try but the Crusaders’ potent firepower showed as they replied with five tries to secure their third straight win.
Despite the loss, captain Sekope Kepu was delighted to start their campaign and was pleased with their performance.
The 110-Test Wallaby said: “We’re thankful for this historic day. It was a pretty surreal experience, 26 years they’ve been talking about it and to finally come out today to represent our people and our families was pretty special.
“The most important thing was trusting our systems and backing each other. The boys showed a lot of courage and passion. We can take a lot of confidence coming out of that, it’s never easy playing the Crusaders they are a world class team and set the bar high for years. If you take your foot off the pedal, they’ll put some points on you.”
Chiefs scrum half Brad Weber played his 100th Super Rugby game for the Chiefs but his side were beaten 24-22 in a thriller against the Blues.
Mark Telea’s last gasp converted try means both teams have one win and one loss from their opening two games.
Winless Highlanders’ miserable start to their campaign continued as they were beaten 21-14 by the Hurricanes.
The Brumbies continued their unbeaten start to their campaign as they saw off the Waratahs 27-20, while the Queensland Reds also moved to 3-0 after their 2916 win over the Force.