Drua in the same do-or-die situation as last year, needs a win against the Rebels to qualify for playoffs

It is going to be a repeat of last year’s do-or-die situation for the Swire Shipping Fijian Drua when they take on the Melbourne Rebels this weekend in Lautoka.

The Drua had to beat the Reds in Suva in the final round of the Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific competition last year to book a place in the playoffs, and this week, they will need a win to maintain their spot in the top 8 and qualify for the quarter finals.

Coach Mick Byrne says the fact that they can still get the job done is quite a lot of confidence.

Byrne says they were in the same situation last year and they just have to recover well this week and set their focus on the next target ahead against the Rebels.

The Drua has maintained their spot in 8th place in the Super Rugby Pacific points table with 21 points despite their loss to the Highlanders yesterday.

This is after the Force, who are in 9th place, suffered a heavy 59-13 loss to the Reds on Saturday.

Meanwhile, defending champion the Crusaders secured a much-needed bonus point win against the Blues last week to have a slim chance of making an appearance in the top 8 by the end of the round-robin competition this weekend.

They will now have to secure another bonus point victory this week against Moana Pasifika and hope that the Rebels beat the Drua and the Force to lose to the Brumbies.

The top four teams, the Blues, Hurricanes, Brumbies and Chiefs have each secured a home quarter final while the bottom four will now fight for their standings in the last round. A win for the Drua this weekend will see them taking on either the Blues or the Hurricanes in the quarterfinals. The Drua will take on the Rebels at 2.05pm this Saturday at Churchill Park, Lautoka in the final round of the competition.

In other matches this week, the Crusaders will play Moana Pasifika at 7.05pm Friday, the Waratahs host the Reds at 9.35pm Friday, the Hurricanes will take on the Highlanders at 4.35pm Saturday, the Blues will play the Chiefs at 7.05pm Saturday and the Force will host the Brumbies at 9.35pm Saturday.