Canberra: Fijian Drua’s captain says his players dedicated their historic Super Rugby upset of the ACT Brumbies to Fijian people still recovering from the impact of a damaging cyclone.
The Drua recorded a second win on the road in their five-year existence by toppling the Brumbies 33-28 in Canberra on Saturday night, boosting their own play-off hopes in the process.
Up 22-7 at the interval, aided by two tries to winger Manasa Mataele, the visitors saw off a surging finish from the Brumbies, sealing victory through a late penalty goal from fly-half Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula.
The Drua’s only other win in 34 matches outside Fiji came against Moana Pasifika in Auckland three years ago. Skipper Temo Mayanavanua said his team was driven by the plight of their country, which was battered last week by category 3 Cyclone Vaianu, which damaged homes and caused widespread flooding across Fiji.
He revealed there had been some criticism in Fiji directed at the players, who continued to train and play for the Drua, rather than help with cyclone recovery. “People were huddling in their homes. Some of the boys had mango trees falling on their roofs, but they decided to show up at training and put in the hard work,” Mayanavanua told Stan Sport.
“We get criticised a lot but to get the job done, there’s nothing more deserving. “And we dedicate this to the families that lost their houses during the cyclone. This win is for all of us.” The Drua played with greater discipline than the error-prone hosts and were lethal on the counter-attack. Their fourth win from nine games leaves them ninth but just four points behind the sixth-placed Canterbury Crusaders.
