Fijian Drua captain and No.8 Nemani Nagusa thanked supporters in particular close families of the players for their unconditional support through their Super Rugby Pacific 2022 season campaign that ended with a 35-34 defeat to the Chiefs in their final game of the season at Lautoka’s Churchill Park over the weekend.
“Their support and their prayers helped us endure the season which has not been easy, for that we are grateful to all our families for their positive and encouraging words helping us on,” Nagusa said.
“We are also grateful to all the supporters in Fiji, Australia where we were based, and New Zealand for their presence at our games. We are looking forward to next season.”
The Drua bow out of their inaugural Super Rugby Pacific season with 12 points, to avoid the wooden spoon taken up by fellow newbies Moana Pasifika who brought up the tail end of the standings with 10 points.
The Chiefs go on to host the Waratahs in one of the quarterfinal matches this Saturday, buoyed from their win over the Drua, in a ‘tough’ encounter that both coach Clayton McMillan and skipper Brad Webber admitted they were lucky to come away on top.
With 10 minutes left on the clock, the Chiefs held a 35-13 lead, before the Drua, inspired by the home crowd’s ‘Toso Drua’ chants responded with three converted tries, including the length of the field try via the combo of Vinaya Habosi and Apisalome Vota, to narrow the gap in a nail-biting finish.
“It has been an amazing experience seeing the Drua play at home in front of a fantastic crowd. It is a great advertisement for their inclusion in Super Rugby,” McMillan said.
He is expecting big things from both the Drua and Moana Pasifika next season, on the back of the learnings that they would have picked up this season.
“A blind man can see how good they are going to be moving forward.”
