Fijian Drua’s winless start: Coach Glen Jackson reacts to another loss

Coach Glen Jackson isn’t sounding the alarm just yet despite the Fijian Drua suffering their third loss of the season from as many matches. In a thriller at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium, the Drua fell agonisingly short of victory, as they were beaten by the Waratahs 29-24 on Friday evening.

Ponepati Loganimasi struck first, with the Paris Olympics silver medallist scoring against the run of play in the 10^th minute on a humid night in the Harbour City. Caleb Muntz converted the try, but the visitors wouldn’t hold onto the slender lead for very long at all.

Langi Gleeson hit back for the Waratahs two minutes after Loganimasi’s effort. That five-pointer set the stage for the dramatic contest that would play out, with another four lead changes occurring before the full-time whistle sounded.

Vuate Karawalevu and Gleeson scored a try each later in the first term, but it was the Waratahs who took a hard-earned 17-12 lead into the sheds. Waratahs hooker David Porecki crossed a few minute after the break to extend the hosts’ lead even further.

Loganimasi completed a double with 20 minutes left to play as the Fijians clawed their way back into the contest and then into the lead. But the Waratahs unleashed an onslaught of attacking pressure with late in the piece, and it paid off as a penalty try was awarded.

With only six teams making the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs this season, the Drua’s 0-3 record to start the season is less than ideal. But Jackson isn’t panicking just yet, with the referee-turned-coach insisting the Drua’s season is still very much alive.

“No, I wouldn’t say it’s must-win yet. I think the competition’s gonna be a lot tougher than previous competitions,” Jackson told reporters in Sydney.

“I think you’d probably need seven wins and a fair few bonus points so one thing is when we’re losing we’re picking up bonus points, which is going to be really important at the end of the year.

“As we know, this competition, without the Rebels has become extremely tough and every point is going to be important.

“It’d be nice for the boys to get a win, I know they’ve put a lot of hard work into it but it’s certainly not must-win for the competition, it would be just must-win for the boys and the hard work they’re putting in.”

With that result, the Drua remain winless this season from three matches after first going down to the ACT Brumbies and Hurricanes in heartbreaking fashion. Luke Reimer was the hero for the Brums as they made history in Fiji, and last weekend’s loss to the Canes was tough.

The Drua will look to avoid a fourth successive loss to open their campaign when they take on competition heavyweights the Chiefs in Lautoka. It doesn’t get any easier for the Fijians are that, with a trip to Canberra and then the Force sending them on a two-match road trip.

“The boys are in good spirits,” Jackson added.

“We’ve done a fair bit of rotation the last three weeks around our squad, I think just about everyone’s had a game, that’s what we wanted. We knew it was a real tough few weeks with a six-day turnaround.

“We wanted everyone to put their best foot forward before we go on the road after the Chiefs game to Canberra and to Perth.

“For the boys, I think they’re reasonably positive around how things are going.”