Photo: WILLIAM WEST
Fijian Drua capitalised on the home ground advantage to stun the Hurricanes 27-24 in a Super Rugby Pacific come from behind thriller in Suva.
With the upset win, the Fijian side celebrated their second major scalp of the season. They also beat the Crusaders by one point on home soil during the third round in March.
Losing Hurricanes captain Ardie Savea said he felt the pressure exerted by the fired-up Drua side was relentless, but the heat, humidity and the parochial crowd were less of a factor.
“We always knew it was going to be tough and I think we just weren’t good enough,” Savea said.
“They were awesome tonight they put us under a lot of pressure and they were very dangerous, very scary.
“It was hard to defend.”
The loss was the Hurricanes’ third of the season and their first on the road.
Meanwhile the Drua, in their second season of Super Rugby Pacific, claimed their fourth win of the season.
A noisy crowd at HFC Bank Stadium erupted in delight as replacement back Kemu Valetini kicked two penalties in the last five minutes to give the Drua a 27-24 win.
Three of Drua’s four wins this season have come in Fiji and captain Tevita Ikanivere said they needed to make the most of their last two home games as they make a push for the playoffs.
“We’re glad we’re back in the winners’ circle,” he said.
“We’re fighting for a spot in the quarter-finals and we need to come home in those two home games.”
The Hurricanes earned a losing bonus point to move alongside the Brumbies in second place behind the Chiefs in the standings, pending the Australian team’s match on Sunday.
The Hurricanes, who had lock Isaia Walker-Leawere sin-binned twice, were put under immense pressure from the start and Drua winger Taniela Rakuro scored the first of his two tries by forcing his way over the line in the 18th minute.
When former All Blacks winger Savea crossed in the 30th and 43rd minutes, though, it looked like the Hurricanes might survive the examination of their title credentials in the sweltering heat.
Rakuro scored his second try after a brilliant offload from centre Iosefo Masi in the 46th minute but Hurricanes prop Xavier Numia kept the visitors out front when he drove over the line five minutes later.
Flanker Du’Plessis Kirifi then gave the Hurricanes a 24-14 lead with a converted try under the posts but the Drua would not lie down.
Club captain Meli Derenalagi, returning from injury off the bench, finished off a brilliant move from the restart to cut the deficit to five points with 20 minutes on the clock.
Valetini kicked the winning points when the Drua stunned the 13-times champion Canterbury Crusaders in Lautoka in March.
He coolly converted Derenalagi’s try and proved just as accurate with penalties in the 75th and 77th minute to secure the victory.
Julian Savea, who was playing in his 150th Super Rugby match in his final season with the Hurricanes, was still appreciative of having matched former Wallabies fullback Folau’s tally.
“Milestones like that always bring back memories of when you were a kid trying to make a dream come true,” said the 32-year-old.
“Hopefully there’s a little bit more to go.”
– Reuters/RNZ
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