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Drua vs Hurricanes takes: The classic hybrid players, Aumua's Achilles heel
By Ned Lester
The Drua have restored pride in their Fijian fortress of Lautoka, beating the Hurricanes in a wet-and-wild contest, 25-20.
A home loss to Moana Pasifika in round 1 was a rare defeat on Fijian soil for the Drua, and a round 2 loss to the Waratahs in Sydney left the club searching for its first win of the season coming into round 3.
Put stretches of this game in slow motion with some Otis Redding in the background, and you’ve got yourself the breakthrough moment of a film where the team overcomes their inner tensions and decide to embrace the joy and chaos, playing the sport the way they did as kids in the backyard.
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Bodies sliding in the mud, balls juggled, and offloads galore, rugby in Fiji certainly is a spectacle, and it certainly brought smiles to the faces of the Lautoka faithful on Saturday afternoon.
Here are some takeaways from the match.
Aumua’s Achilles
Asafo Aumua is back after an injury-troubled 2025, and in the words of teammate Du’Plessis Kirifi, the “beast” is looking “mint”.
The hooker, known for bench-pressing 195 kg, has always been a physical freak and has entered 2026 in perhaps the best shape of his career.
In Fiji, his carries were abrasive and powered over the gain-line. On the other side of the ball, the Drua may as well have been running into a slab of marble. However, one issue has plagued Aumua his entire career, and it reared its head once more on Saturday afternoon.
Before leaving for the All Blacks‘ Northern Tour in 2024, Aumua sat with reporters at Auckland Airport and reflected on his struggles as a lineout-thrower, comparing the pressure hookers compete with to that of kickers, lining up a shot at the posts with the entire arena watching.
It was clear that pressure has had an impact on the 28-year-old in his career to date. But, on the eve of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series, where he would go on to star in a 23-13 win over Ireland, Aumua said he had found success in reframing his thinking around throwing, and now experiences excitement at the challenge of executing with all eyes peeled squarely on him.
Just how sustainable that progress is, though, remains a question.
Aumua’s first two throws in Lautoka were askew, but things tidied up after that. So, a mixed performance after helping the Hurricanes to an 83 per cent success rate at the lineout in round 1. Watch this space, as the Aumua has to win over a new All Blacks head coach and resist the growth of capped youngsters George Bell and Brodie McAlister, as well as the Highlanders’ rising star Jack Taylor.
The classic hybrid players
Eddie Jones talked about it, Henry Pollock is flirting with it, and André Esterhuizen is doing it, but for Fijians, it’s second nature. Hybrid players are nothing new to the islands of Viti Levu and co.
Levani Botia has split his time between the backline and loose trio over the past decade, and with performances like Saturday’s, you could argue there are plenty more Fijian talents capable of switching it up.
With the game in the balance at 20 apiece heading into the final quarter, both teams were desperate to strike the next blow. When a break was made, it wasn’t a back exploiting a half-gap in the Hurricanes’ defence, but 35-year-old prop Peni Ravai, who offloaded to blindside flanker Etonia Waqa, who cantered over the line to score the match-winner.
Playmaker Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula pulled the strings superbly in the attacking sequence, getting the ball wide on consecutive phases, and the Drua made plenty of metres because of it.
When the young No.10 looked to the left edge, there wasn’t a back in sight, with four forwards lining up on the outside. Kitione Salawa and Mesake Vocevoce were the players skipped by Armstrong-Ravula’s cut-out ball, and were the two on hand to congratulate Waqa after his swan-dive in the corner.
There’s nothing quite like Fijian rugby, and Lautoka’s game-winner was a celebration of it.
Two 10s make their mark
We’re yet to hear the extent of the injury Brett Cameron suffered in round 2’s win over Moana Pasifika, but one thing Hurricanes fans do know is that they have depth at 10.
With Harry Godfrey and Ruben Love already sidelined, it was Harkin’s turn to run the show in Lautoka, and he did a very convincing job.
The Drua put up one kick for every three passes made in the game, 41 total, and Harkin had some masterful takes in the backfield. With ball-handling a challenge for both sides in the conditions, it certainly was impressive to see the 26-year-old so accurate in his first game in Fiji.
The sophomore spun out of tackles as he caught well-placed kicks under pressure, and his own kicking game contributed handsomely to 60 per cent of the game being played in the Drua’s half.
His opposite, Armstrong-Ravula, was also exceptional.
The 22-year-old kept his team in touch with a couple of penalty kicks to go with his two conversions, punishing the Hurricanes’ errors, of which there were plenty.
You can’t blame the Canes for spilling the ball in those conditions, even if they do have the benefit of NZCIS’s ‘climate-controlled studio’, in which the team can train in conditions with manipulated altitude, humidity and temperature. The error count is always high in Fiji, and with Armstrong-Ravula collecting points off the back of those errors, the Drua are very well-placed to compete.
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