Super W seminifal: Drua v Reds
Kick-off: 1:05pm, Saturday 18 July
Venue: Churchill Park, Lautoka, Fiji
Fijian Drua Women’s head coach Mike Legge believes winning collisions and executing well are key areas his team will need to focus on against the Queensland Reds Women’s in Saturday’s Super W rugby semi-final in Lautoka.
Legge said the visitors will be physical upfront and would be tough opponents.
He also pointed to having a good start and being consistent in the first 20 minutes could determine how the team performs in the match.
“I’ve been pretty consistent with the areas that I see wins us games, and that’s the collision,” he told reporters at the team’s mid-week press conference on Wednesday.
“The Reds are a very collision-based type of side, so we’ve got to make sure that we match it and and give it back to them ten-fold for us to create opportunities.
“But it’s also around the skill execution. We’ve got to make sure this weekend we execute our skills for us to score points.”
Legge said the players are excited about playing at home and understand the importance of the occasion.
He said having defeated the Reds 50-17 in the round-robin competition last month will not count.
Legge added he knows their opponents will be stronger on Saturday, especially with their forward-focused game.
“It’s going to be semifinal rugby,” he said.
“The Reds aren’t going to be the same team that we played in the preseason and in that last game of the round robin, they are well coached side. They will be analysing you know everything that we’ve done in the round robin and as we’ve done with them.
“We expect a very tough game. We expect a very physical game, you know, and I think it’s going to be a really great showpiece for semifinal rugby. They rely heavily on their their scrums, especially and then also they have a strong lineout.”
Fijian Drua women’s head coach Mike Legge says his players are excited about playing at home against the Queensland Reds.
Facebook / Fijian Drua
Legge said the challenge for his forward pack is making sure they nullify their set pieces, both in the scrum and the lineouts, and also put on good pressure on defence.
“I think if we can can get nail those those three things, it’ll go a long way for us to winning the semi-final.”
Legge has been impressed with the team fighting back from the first round loss to the Waratahs to winning against the Force, Brumbies and the Reds.
He said getting this weekend out of the way is their focus at the moment.
“They’re walking towards it, that’s been one of our key messages right from when we lost that first game against the Waratahs.
“We knew that we’d be under pressure … one of our goals at the beginning of the year was to secure the the home semi. When we lost that game against the Waratahs, it put pressure back on the girls to reach that target, so they’re handling the pressure well and am really proud of the girls for absorbing that pressure.
“It’ll be a different sort of pressure come Saturday.”
He said the team will appreciate fans on the stands cheering them on, adding the team appreciates all the support they get.
“You know, they were massive for us when got over the Force in round two. The crowd in that second half really really picked us up, and I don’t expect anything different.
“I think the girls deserve a sellout, and we’re just really looking forward to the atmosphere.”
Meanwhile, the second semifinal will be played between the Western Force and the NSW Waratahs at 6:05pm on Sunday at the HBF Park, Perth.
