‘Some soft moments’: Reds captain pinpoint’s issue from loss in Fiji

Super Rugby Pacific in 2025 has tossed up its fair share of upsets, many of which have been in Fiji, where the Fijian Drua perform so strongly at home.

Newly named Wallabies coach, from 2026 onwards, Les Kiss will be disappointed with his Reds team’s performance in Suva — a game which Kiss will hope doesn’t have too much of an effect on the end of the season.

Despite the round twelve loss, the Reds still sit fourth in the standings, only six points behind the Brumbies with a game in hand.

Reds captain Tate McDermott was honest in his reflection of the match, admitting that his team were second best in most areas of the game.

“I think we missed too many tackles, and the tackles we did miss, they punished us. So a couple of tries, just a couple of soft moments,” McDermott told media post-match in Fiji.

“I liked that last defensive set, if we defended like that the whole game, the score line probably would have been different, but coming up against a team as good as the Drua, particularly over here, you can see just how much the crowd gives them energy.

“As Les said, it’s a hard place to come, it’s a hard place to play, and they’re a hard team to face. We came on the wrong side of the ledger today, but it’s not all doom and gloom from our end.

“We’ve got to look at the kind of the reasons why we put ourselves in those positions today, we will do that, and we’ll look to rectify that against the Waratahs on Friday night.”

Although Kiss was frustrated by the loss, he was quick to acknowledge how difficult it was to win in Fiji.

“It’s always a tough place to come and play and win, that’s for sure. They’ve proven that a lot of times and that’s why we came here with a pretty strong team,” Kiss said post-match in Suva.

“We respect the fact that it’s tough when you lose, we knew that if they got their game going, they can be dangerous. I think the Drua certainly won enough of the contact areas to give themselves the momentum they required, and they were pretty tidy with the ball when they had to be, particularly on the try line.

“So whilst I’m disappointed, I want to recognise a very, very good Drua side today.”

After Kiss complimented the Drua’s performance, he was quick to admit his side wasn’t up to scratch themselves.

“I thought, however, we were disappointed in a couple of areas, for sure. Every individual needs to look at themselves and take responsibility for just one or two more complete efforts that we probably need and that can probably make a difference.

“But it’s still the character to stay in the fight and fight back into that with that last defensive effort before the try, we also make sure we recognize it.

“Fair play to Drua who were up for it, and we just couldn’t quite match it today.”