Super Rugby Pacific: Fijian Drua dedicate win to late president Ratu Epeli Nailatikau

Fijian Drua dedicated their 33-28 win over ACT Brumbies in Canberra to the country's late president, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, who was buried on Friday afternoon.

Captain Temo Mayanavanua said Ratu Epeli was an ardent rugby fan, and the team wanted to remember him and his family with the win.

He also added the victory was for fans back home, especially those who went through some challenging weather conditions in the last two weeks.

The win was the first away victory in the Super Rugby Pacific competition tour since 2023 and the first in Canberra.

At the same time, prop Samuela Tawake produced a good outing in his 50th game for the franchise.

Mayanavanua said the players were over the moon with the win and wanted to honour Ratu Epeli, who died two weeks ago in Suva.

"We dedicate this game to the late president and our thoughts go out to his family at this time," he said. "These boys decided to come in and to get the result, and it is just satisfying.

"We also wanted to create something special, especially for Samu for his 50th. The boys were hungry enough and it's satisfying to get what we worked hard for.

"We worked throughout the week, and talked about starting fast and controlling the game. We talked about the Brumbies coming back in the second half."

The victory meant the Drua have won both matches against the Brumbies this year, after winning the first game at Ba in March.

Drua scored four tries in Canberra - two to former Crusaders winger Manasa Mataele, who said the win meant so much to the team.

"This is the national team and we haven't had the best of records on away games," he told Stan Sports. "That's something we had talked about, our away games have not been great - sometimes good, sometimes not so good.

"As we expected, a good side like the Brumbies, we knew what was coming and it is something we have been working on, controlling the momentum swings."

Brumbies captain Ryan Lonergan said they fell into the hole a few times during the game and Drua were on fire.

"Very disappointing," he said. "Drua put us under a lot of pressure.

"They scored some great Drua tries. We put ourselves in the hole a little bit there."

First-half lead

Fijian Drua led 22-7 at halftime, after an impressive first half when they dominated the forward battles and scored three tries.

Loose forwards Etonia Waqa, Kitione Salawa and Isoa Tuwai were dominant in the battle for loose ball on the ground, claiming critical turnovers in the process.

The forward pack, led by the tight five of Emosi Tuqiri, Zuriel Togiatama, Samuela Tawake, Temo Mayanavanua and Isoa Nasilasila, won two tightheads in the scrum battles in the first 40 minutes, setting the base for their spirited display.

Brumbies Luke Reimer claimed consecutive turnovers in tackles in the first 10 minutes, but the Drua defence held tight.

The hosts claimed the first try of the game in the 11th minute, after Brumbies winger Ollie Sapsford was taken out in the corner in a Isikeli Basiyalo tackle and lock Nick Frost claimed a loose ball in the lineout,

Frost dived over to score and give local fans some moments of celebration.

Mataele finished off a Drua attack in the 14th minute, following a good combination between Isikeli Basiyalo and Rabitu that took play into the Brumbies 22 metre zone.

Halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa spun the ball wide to Isaiah Washington-Ravula, who sent the ball wide to Waqa and he fed Mataele out wide to dive in.

Then, in the 18th minute, Waqa knocked the ball on, as he dived over the Brumbies tryline, before Ravula converted a penalty to give the visitors a slim 8-7 lead.

Mataele claimed his second try in the 28th minute, after he intercepted a Brumbies passing movement, with Ravula's conversion sending the Drua to a 15-7 lead.

Leleiwasa sent Drua further ahead in the 36th minute, when he took a quick tap from a penalty and crashed his way over the line.

Ravula added the extra two points, with Drua leading 22-7 at halftime.

That try was the result of a good bomb Ravula sent towards the Brumbies 22 metre zone, recovered by replacement Simione Kuruvoli, who sent hooker Togiatama racing towards the line, with Brumbies defenders following him in their attempt to take him down.

Ruck interference gave the Drua a penalty and Leleiwasa took the opportunity to score his try.

Fightback

Brumbies returned fired up in the second half and scored the opening try of the second 40 minutes through fullback Tom Wright.

Lonergan's conversion saw them close the scoreline to 22-14.

However, Ravula pushed the Drua further ahead with a successful penalty, before replacement Simione Kuruvoli collected a kick-pass from Ravula to run in unchallenged in the corner.

Brumbies fought back with a try to replacement first-five Taine Edmond, with Lonergan's conversion bridging the gap to 30-21.

Then a midfield setplay saw Corey Toole breaking through for the Brumbies and the converted try saw the Brumbies close the scoreline to 30-28 with 11 minutes to go.

However, Ravula had the last laugh in the game, when he kicked another penalty in the 77th minute.

With time up, Brumbies had one last chance to win the game with a penalty, opting for the lineout close to the Drua tryline.

Drua defended well and stopped the Brumbies maul from the ensuing lineout, claiming the turnover and the game, as the final whistle went.

Hong Kong Sevens

Meanwhile, both the Fiji men's and Fijiana women sevens teams have been knocked out of the semifinals of the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, following their quarterfinal losses on Saturday night.

Fijiana women went down to Australia 45-5. The victory means Australia will meet France in the semifinal, while New Zealand take on Canada in the other women's semi.

In the men's competition, Fiji lost a tight battle with Argentina 24-17 and dropped out of the semifinals.

The quarterfinal loss means Fiji's campaign to win in Hong Kong for the first time since 2019 will remain a dream for the next 12 months.

Argentina will meet Spain in one semifinal on Sunday evening, while New Zealand take on South Africa.

Both the Fijiana and Fiji men's teams will now drop to the playoffs.

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