A huge stream of protest has been generated on social media concerning the comment by the Fijian Drua chief executive Brian Thorburn that the first Drua game on Fiji soil would not be telecast live on free to air television.
“Vacava o keimami na tu mai veiyanuyanu keimami via sarava talega na qito (what about us, the people from the outer islands, we would also want to watch the match),” a comment on Facebook said.
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The Fijian Drua have confirmed the signing of Reds outside back Ilaisa Droasese with immediate effect after he was released from his contract.
Droasese made his debut for the Reds in 2021, instantly making an impression as he scored off the bench during their round one win over the Waratahs in Super Rugby AU.
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Now for the other lot. And not before time.
This week the six New Zealand-based franchises travel across the Tasman for Super Rugby Pacific’s “super round” in Melbourne, where they will play Australian-based opponents for the first time in 2022.
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Frustrated flyer Suliasi Vunivalu has revealed he wants to stay in rugby but won’t make a call on his future until his juices are flowing again on the field.
The former NRL ace is back training at full pace with the Queensland Reds after getting on top of a crushing run of hamstring issues that required two surgeries.
The Fijian Drua will relocate to the Gold Coast for the next two weeks as a result of the intense flooding in Lismore, with coach Mick Byrne set to enter isolation.
The floods caused their base at Lake Ainsworth Sport & Rec Centre to close, leaving the side to make the trip early to Queensland.
“With our camp closing due to operational issues caused by the rising water levels, we had no choice but to move to the Gold Coast for the next 10 days,” CEO Brian Thorburn said in a statement.
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The Western Force have snatched victory against the Fijian Drua, kicking a penalty after the full-time siren to claim a 20-18 win in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in Sydney.
Bayley Kuenzle slotted the kick in the 85th minute after a prolonged stay in the Drua’s defensive 22 at Leichhardt Oval earned a penalty for a high tackle awarded by referee Nic Berry.
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New Zealand Rugby has confirmed Moana Pasifika will play the Chiefs in the lone Kiwi game of round five of Super Rugby Pacific.
This comes after there were confirmed COVID cases in the Blues, Highlanders, and Crusaders squads.
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Speaking on Sky Sport’s The Breakdown, Kiwi whistleblower Ben O’Keefe said that Fiji could make the tournament’s final four following the induction of the Fijian Drua into Super Rugby Pacific this season.
The international official outlined that he believed Fiji had the personnel to push for a place in the knockout stages of the 2019 World Cup, where they finished third in Pool D behind the Wallabies and Wales.
However, O’Keefe noted that the inclusion of the Drua in Super Rugby Pacific gives Fiji a wider pool of talent to pick from without having to overcome the hurdles of selecting players based abroad.
“Looking internationally, they could be semi-final contenders at the World Cup,” O’Keeffe told The Breakdown.
“I think they were anyway, the way they played in 2019, before they had the Drua playing in Super Rugby, allowing that base of players to come through.
“They’ve always struggled with getting the players based overseas to compete for Fiji, because of all the windows.
“When they are fully fit, with the experience of the players they have, that flair is going to be really hard to stop.”
O’Keefe’s comments come after the Drua recently beat the Melbourne Rebels to pick up their first-ever Super Rugby Pacific win, before pushing the Queensland Reds to the brink on Saturday.
Down by 28-9 with a quarter of the game to go, the Drua looked dead and buried before a flurry of explosive long range tries levelled proceedings at 28-all with eight minutes to go.
Although the Reds completed the 33-28 victory by scoring the final try, the Drua have proven to be a side with potential in Super Rugby Pacific after just four weeks of action.
Ex-All Blacks wing Sir John Kirwan told The Breakdown that he thinks the Drua don’t fully believe in themselves, as reflected by their failure to beat the Reds, but implored them to continue their style of play and resist becoming more like the other sides.
“I just don’t think deep down they believe yet, but I think it’s coming,” Kirwan told the panel.
“I don’t think they have been consistent, first half was pretty average, a lot of penalties, and then they just explode. When they think, ‘Actually, we can compete here’.
“Coming up against the New Zealand sides will be another challenge for them, if they go out there and be confident. I just don’t want the Fijian Drua to change their game.
“Do not start playing like the other teams, keep doing that stuff from inside the 22, because I think they will put more teams under pressure, because they will be so unpredictable.
“You saw Fiji last year [against the All Blacks]. We brought them into Super Rugby so it can also help them internationally.”
Another ex-All Black wing, Jeff Wilson, pinpointed the introduction of the Drua into Australia’s former provincial competition as the turning point for Fijian rugby as a whole as it allowed access to higher competition for local emerging talent.
Wilson told The Breakdown that the Drua’s two seasons in the now-defunct NRC has prepared the Fijian Rugby Union for what is required to run a Super Rugby Pacific franchise.
“It all started for me once they played the NRC in Australia. Just playing there for a couple of years, all of sudden players coming from Fiji playing in a different competition, against different styles of rugby,” Wilson said.
“They’ve got a different understanding of what’s required.
“Do I see them as a contender like I said last week? Absolutely. I think they are a side good enough to finish in the top eight of this competition in their very first year.”
Flying Fijians forwards coach Jason Ryan has a personal interest in what he calls an exciting entry by the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika in Super Rugby Pacific this year.
The Crusaders assistant coach was delighted with the Drua’s first win, against the Rebels, at the weekend.
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Super Rugby Pacific history was made on the Sunshine Coast last night when the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua scored their first ever tournament win with a never-say-die 31-26 victory over the Melbourne Rebels.
In doing so they notched the highest score in their short history and discovered a self-belief missing from their first two matches, coming from 14-7 down at half time to score a famous victory.
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