Fijian Drua's Lautoka fortress falls as Moana start fast and seal win late

The Battle of the Pacific opened the season for the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, with the cauldron of Lautoka hosting one of Super Rugby’s most enthralling rivalries.

Moana Pasifika started fast, and while the Drua fought back, it was the visitors who produced the more convincing performance to start the season, securing the 40-26 win.

Moana made a statement early with their phase play rolling forward thanks to big, hard carries in tight. A couple of Drua penalties contributed to the territory gain, and Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa had the pure power to be first on the scoreboard.

Both teams tried their luck with contestable kicks, but it was Moana who were more capable at retrieving them, and were soon back on the attack with momentum in their carry game.

The team’s new captain for 2026, Miracle Faiilagi, was involved often and finished another try by driving through the defence in the corner.

Moana were looking for their third in the 13th minute when a Kitione Salawa steal ended the play. A Drua knock-on handed possession back to the visitors, though, and milestone man William Havili drilled the ball long, executing a superb 50/22. Faiilagi caught the ball directly off the lineout and ran straight at Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, who did little to slow the flanker’s roll en route to another try.

In the 19th minute, the Drua finally strung some phases together, and while that period of exhaustive play was ended by another knock-on, the hosts scored three minutes later when collecting a chip and chase and sending the ball to Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, who stepped inside and got over the try line.

A Mesake Vocevoce yellow card was quickly followed by another Moana bombardment of the Drua try line, and after two handling errors saw probable tries go begging, the ball was sent wide directly off a scrum, and Tevita Ofa jogged in for a try.

While Moana were often piggybacked deep into Drua territory by penalties, the Fijians had to earn their metres the hard way, and certainly grew into the game on the attack side of the ball.

With the 40th minute just seconds away, some classic Fijian offloading gave Virimi Vakatawa space to move, and the debutant flicked an offload over his head for Kitione Salawa to run onto and score. The effort brought the score to 28-12 in Moana’s favour.

Moana started the second period with a bang, with just one strong hit-up from Tupou Ta’eiloa needed to get the team on the front foot before Ngani Laumpae pirouetted out of a tackle and offloaded to Ofa, who in turn found Faiilagi on the wing. The flanker had the pace to sprint the final 30 metres to the line.

The Drua sured up their handling as the game progressed and looked more comfortable holding the ball in phase play. The hosts were rewarded for their improvements in the 45th minute when Ilaisa Droasese crossed after going deep into phase play once more.

Some errors re-entered the picture around the 50-minute mark, and the Drua had a pearler of a try ruled out in the 59th minute.

The execution was better four minutes later, and Temo Mayanavanua reduced his side’s deficit to seven with another powerful carry in tight.

Moana Pasifika had an opportunity to extend their lead to a two-score game with a penalty kick, but Patrick Pellegrini pushed it right. With five minutes remaining, a knock-on 10 metres from the Drua line saw another opportunity to seal the win missed.

The Drua launched one final strike from deep in their own half, but the ball was spilled one last time, and Ofa Tauatevalu was in position to make the most of the scraps and have the last say in the game. Final score: 40-26, Moana Pasifika.