Fijian Drua complete comeback with desperate late defence against Force

Winger Ella Pietsch has suffered an injury on debut as the Western Force coughed up a sizeable lead in a 29-24 Super Rugby Women’s loss to the Fijian Drua in Fiji.

The Force led 24-10 in the 53rd minute of Saturday’s match in Churchill Park in Lautoka before the Drua unleashed a mesmerising three-try blitz to snatch the victory.

In a thrilling finish, the Force spent most of the last few minutes just metres away from their tryline, but the Drua’s strong defence held firm.

The Drua’s consequence-free mindset played a crucial role in the win, with their mesmerising passing game and attack-at-all-costs mantra leaving the Force scrambling for most of the second half.

“Just their last 20 minutes, they really changed momentum and the crowd got behind them,” Force captain Trilleen Pomare said.

“We really backed ourselves to finish it in the end, but the Drua were too strong.”

Pietsch, the wife of Force men’s winger Dylan Pietsch, lasted less than 10 minutes before injuring her right knee while being tackled near the try line.

The rugby sevens speedster got up after being tackled and tried to play on, but could barely hobble and ended up being carried off the ground by two trainers.

On the eve of the Force’s season opener, coach Dylan Parsons declared his hopes of guiding the team to the title this year, and the Perth-based franchise named a strong starting XV featuring 12 players capped at international level.

Force prop Allana Sikimeti scored the opening try in the 11th minute when she barged through the Drua defence with a pick-and-go on the back of a strong rolling maul.

The Force had a second try on the board and a 14-0 lead in the 36th minute when Vani Buleki, who played sevens for Fiji at the 2024 Olympics, put on the afterburners to skip past an opponent on the wing.

The Drua’s response two minutes later was the highlight of the half, with Josivini Naihamu unleashing a blistering 50m run to score.

Litiana Vueti touched down in the corner in the 49th minute for the Drua, but Force halfback Samantha Wood hit back three minutes later to give the visitors vital breathing space.

It didn’t last long.

The Drua unleashed a mesmerising series of passes to send over flyhalf Varanisese Qoro in the 57th minute, reducing the margin back to seven points.

Aqela Raitubu burst down the left wing to level the scores in the 66th minute, then Vueti’s dribble and gather helped send Qoro over for her game-winning second try in the 68th minute.