The Swire Shipping Fijian Drua went down fighting against the Highlanders 27-24 in-front of a sellout crowd at the ANZ Stadium in the Super Rugby Pacific.
There was a lot of home ground magic on show today as the Drua lived up to the expectations of their first historic home match in Suva despite losing to the Highlanders.
Cheers and screams from passionate Fijian fans could be heard everytime a Drua player touched the ball and even in the middle of a scrum, there was a well executed mexican wave around the stadium.
The Drua made an electric start in just two minutes into the game when winger Vinaya Habosi broke the Highlanders defensive line to set up the first try for halfback Frank Lomani.
The Drua's second try came through Vinaya Habosi after a fantastic display of skills by Joseva Tamani who received the ball and took full advantage of a gap that opened up the Highlanders defence.
Habosi's individual brilliance stood out in that try.
In the 22nd minute, Kitione Taliga burst through the Highlanders defence and advanced the Fijian Drua attack.
Through that advance, the Drua held their position and centre Kalaveti Ravouvou crossed over for a try after receiving a grubber from Teti Tela.
35 minutes into the match the Fijian Drua had scored three tries compared to the Highlanders two and were leading 21-17.
Fijian Drua fly half Teti Tela added three points through a penalty just before halftime for the Drua to lead 24-17.
Tela's goal kicking was impressive throughout the game.
He converted three tries and kicked one penalty.
The Highlanders scored three tries, kicked three conversions and two penalties.
They held off the Drua in the second half through a strong defensive plan while the Drua made errors in critical moments of the match.
| Fijian Drua perform the iBole | Highlanders perform the Haka | |
| Historic Super Rugby Pacific match kicks off at the ANZ Stadium | ||
| Frank Lomani scores a superb try after a break by Vinaya Habosi in the 2nd minute | ||
| Teti Tela successful with the conversion | ||
| Sam Gilbert scores in the corner for the Highlanders after consistent build-up in the 8th minute | ||
| Mitch Hunt successful with the conversion | ||
| Vinaya Habosi with breathtaking speed scores Drua's second try after a quick counter attack in the 17th minute | ||
| Teti Tela successful with the conversion | ||
| Mitch Hunt kicks a successful penalty |
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| Kalaveti Ravouvou scores after a grubber from Teti Tela in the 24th minute | ||
| Teti Tela successful with the conversion, to extend the lead | ||
| Marino Mikaele-Tu’u powers his way under the sticks in the 31st minute | ||
| Mitch Hunt successful with the conversion |
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| Teti Tela successful with the penalty in the 40th minute | ||
| Second half underway | ||
| Mitch Hunt successful with the penalty in the 48th minute | ||
| Rhys Marshall gets it over the try line after a rolling maul in the 63rd minute | ||
| Mitch Hunt successful with the conversion | ||
| Fijian Drua goes down fighting against Highlanders |
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