Updated: 6:11am – Halfway into the National Rugby Championship, the Fiji Airways Drua are aiming to win their last two away games to boost their chances of hosting a semifinal.
After last weekend’s match, a look over the stats sheet for the Drua and Perth Spirit match would show you anything but a 41‑5, six‑tries‑to‑one thumping by the Drua over the 2016 NRC champions.
The set piece battle was quite tight, with Perth taking a slight line out advantage and Fiji a similar edge in the scrums.
The breakdown and attack numbers show Perth well on top, winning two‑and‑a‑half times as many rucks, carrying 70% more than Fiji, and with 50% more defenders beaten.
Flowing on from this, Fiji made twice as many tackles as Perth did, missed 50% more, and they conceded 10 penalties to three.
Perth dominated possession, created more opportunities, made and missed way fewer tackles. But Perth conceded 26 turnovers to Fiji’s 14, and the Drua made nearly as many metres from just over half as many carries.
They attacked from turnover, and made ground for fun. The Drua also kicked nearly twice as much as the Perth did, suggesting that they ensured the game wasn’t played in their half.
Coach Senirusi Seruvakula says they will continue to build and are looking forward to play the Canberra Vikings at 9.30pm this Friday.
The Drua now lead the NRC table with 15 points while Brisbane Country is in second place with 10 points.
-Fiji Village
