Ilaisa Droasese in action for Fijian Drua against the Chiefs.
Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images
Glen Jackson did not mince his words.
After his side going 42-22 down to the Chiefs at the One NZ Stadium on Sunday evening in the Super Rugby Pacific ‘Super Round’, the Fijian Drua coach said their performance was not up to par.
He called it frustrating and called the team out for not scoring tries, although they had so much possession in the last quarter of the game.
Two tries in the last 20 minutes and consistent pressure towards the end of the match had fans cheering them on, but in the end, the Chiefs counterattacked and scored the closing try, with Tepaea Cook-Savage claiming the last of the game.
“Pretty frustrating, yeah, it was frustrating,” Jackson told media. “We created plenty of opportunities to score tries.
“We started the game really well with a great try, then we watched the individual errors.
“You know, we could have scored at the end of the first half, then two tries each. In the second half, the boys didn’t give up and kept going for 80.”
Jackson was also not happy with fullback Ilaisa Droasese, who gave away two tries through mistakes.
The first came when, after cleaning up a kick ahead, he opted to grubber for himself in his own in-goal and Chiefs prop Jarred Proffit simply dived on the loose ball to score.
TV commentators were stunned by the move, and so were fans watching at the stadium and on TV screens across the globe, including Fiji.
“Obviously, it’s not what we’re after,” said Jackson, who added that maybe Droasese was “looking as if he was obstructed”.
“Yeah, I don’t know what it was.”
He said the loss made their chances of reaching a top-six spot harder
.
“We said to the boys, if we win five of our last seven, we’ll make it.”
The Chiefs did not have it their way either, with the Drua giving them tough moments, but the fact they were more consistent with their opportunities made the difference in the end.
“We’ll take some good learnings,” Jackson said. “The Chiefs are a quality team and I thought we had them, had them on the racks quite a few times.
“We just didn’t score tries.”
Co-captain Temo Mayanavanua said consistency was something they would need to work really hard on, because they had their opportunities and moments against the Chiefs.
“It all comes down to consistency and that’s what we saw tonight,” he said. “We weren’t consistent enough.
“We build up and then slacken off a little bit, which is not good enough against a quality side like the Chiefs.”
The Chiefs scored six tries to Drua’s three, leading 28-10 at halftime.
The Drua will now meet the Highlanders, who defeated Moana Pasifika 27-17 earlier on Sunday.
Moana Pasifika head coach Fa’alogo Tana Umaga revealed that, while he was disappointed the team lost, he was proud of their effort, despite all the off-the-field pressure the players and management are going through.
Umaga, who will join the All Blacks coaching team at the end of the current Super Rugby Pacific season, said anxiety caused by the uncertainty over the club’s future was a major pressure that the team continued to face daily.
“It’s that uncertainty that brings on a lot of anxiety and there’s a lot of anxious kids within our group,” he said, referring to the announcement last week that the franchise was financially unable to continue after this season, unless someone picks up the tab to keep the team going.
“We understand where we’re at. I’m so proud of the guys, our men, being able to park that in the carpark before they come in.
“We talk a lot around persevering and keeping faith, but also around controlling what we can control.”
Moana Pasifika will host the Blues at Mt Smart Stadium on Saturday night.
Five takeaways for Drua and Moana Pasifika
Both the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika showed they could battle against the top teams in the Super Rugby Pacific competition.
What lessons can they take from their round 11 matches?
- Consistency is something both camps have pointed at since round one and unfortunately,10 rounds later, the same still applies. The onus is on the players to get that done urgently.
- Individual basic skills need to be up to par too. Everyone makes mistakes, but making the same mistakes individually, game in and game out, is a worry.
- There is no denying both teams have been able to keep at it for the whole game, but just being in the game is not good enough, if opportunities are not converted to points.
- Take points when they are offered – three points is always better than nothing at any time during the game.
- Every player in both teams must remember, when they are on the field, they are playing for each other and each individual needs to play their part, if success is to be achieved. Individualism does not help.
