fijian drua head coach Jackson said they understood the importance of the Hurricanes clash. Photo: Fijian Drua
Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson has made fifteen changes and included two debutants in the match-day 23 against the Hurricanes following his team's loss to the Brumbies at home in the opening round 2025 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Having expressed disappointment with how things went down at the National Stadium last weekend, and staying true to his words that he needs to give everyone a chance, the former player-turned-rugby referee and coach has virtually overhauled the entire team.
Gone are inspirational captain Tevita Ikanivere, double try-scorer Vuate Karawalevu, and wing partner Ponipate Loganimasi.
But he has also handed two players the chance to show their worth in the Drua jersey: former Racing 92 player Inia Tabuavou will run in at inside centre, the position he thrived in for the Flying Fijians in 2024, and former Reds prop Peni Ravai is likely to take the field off the bench in the second half.
Jackson told reporters in is weekly pre-match press conference at the Drua headquarters in Nadi that they understood the importance of the Hurricanes clash, especially the fact that it is the Drua's first of away matches for the season.
He said player balance and getting the 'no away win syndrome' off their back is something they have discussed, before they Thursday flight to Auckland.
"Obviously, we're disappointed we didn't get the win in Suva. Would have been great start for myself and for the coaches and for the new players and our club to get the win, but that didn't happen," Jackson said.
"We've reviewed and moved on pretty quickly. We can't dwell on what happened, we've gotta learn from it, and let's put it into the next performance, which is obviously a very good Hurricanes team in Napier.
"Our expectation is to win. You know, we're not going there for any other reason. That's the game of rugby.
"It's not easy to get to Napier from Fiji. So, we have to balance what we're doing in terms of our players, and then we've got the Waratahs on a six day turnaround in Sydney. It's a balancing act, but we want to make sure that most people get a run, but also around what's best for our team and how we going to move forward."
He said the Drua coaching group wants to sure that they have got the right team to beat the Hurricanes.
The head coach said the team's four first-round of matches are "tough", with the home clash against the Brumbies last week followed by the away matches with the Hurricanes this weekend, and Waratahs in Sydney next week, before the home match against the Chiefs in Lautoka.
"So, trying to get the balance of those next three games is going to be really important."
Physical battles
Jackson said they lost the contact battle against the Brumbies and will need to be on top of that against what he expects to be a tougher and physical Hurricanes pack.
"The Hurricanes bring more of that aggressive stuff around the breakdowns, so if we don't get that right, then we're not going to get what we're after. And that's the win," Jackson said.
He said the Hurricanes have also come off a close loss, and they'll they'll be hurting as well.
"It's their first home game. So, they'll come in the contacts.
"We've gotta look after that. You know, they're a quality team. They didn't win Super Rugby last year, but obviously they topped the table after the whole year.
"We're under no illusions how good they are but we're also preparing well. We need to look after that breakdown. We need to go hard in and we need to make a big effort around looking after our own balls. And if we can get our balls on our terms, we know we've got enough talent to be able to score some tries."
Corey Toole runs with the ball during round one Super Rugby Pacific match between Fijian Drua and ACT Brumbies at HFC Stadium. Photo: Pita Simpson/Getty Images
Ill-discipline
Jackson said they have looked at the lack of discipline, which he picked as a major issue last weekend against the Brumbies.
The Drua had two players off for a period of time during the first half and were playing with 13 players, following yellow card infringements.
He said it was more so the simple penalties that forced the team to re-start plays from inside their own halves again which were frustrating.
"It's something we talked about at the club. I mean, we got two yellow cards at the weekend, and they killed us," he said.
"But it's more the silly penalties that get us put back into the corner. We need to stop those.
"If we do that against the Hurricanes, we'll be in a bit of trouble. So, forcing them not to have those easy 22 meter entries is going to be really important to get an away win."
Away win
The Drua failed to get an away in 2024, adding to their woeful on the road record since 2022.
Jackson said it is something they have talked about.
"I know it's something on our shoulders, and we've gotta shrug it off, and once we shrug it off and get a good home away win, then I think, in terms of our club, we will move forward," he said.
He said players in the squad have won away matches for the Flying Fijians and he hopes that can rub off on the team.
"We've got a lot of tests rugby players in the room who have played for Fiji, so it's about what they've done in terms of winning Pacific Nations Cup pretty much away from home," he said.
"So you know, our boys just gotta have the confidence around what we're doing as a club and understand that when we travel, we haven't got the support of our wonderful and amazing crowd, and they've gotta find their own energy around preparing and performing as well as they can."
He said he could not over-stress the importance of the team getting clean balls and looking after that.
"So that's probably the biggest area of the game that we need to look after, obviously, and our set pieces," the coach said.
"It's something that we need to keep our head on for the whole 80 and make sure that we get the front football that we're after. If you lose that battle, it's very tough to win a rugby game."
Kick-off: 4.35pm NZ time
Venue: McLean Park on Saturday.
Fijian Drua: 1 Emosi Tuqiri 2 Zuriel Togiatama 3 Mesake Doge 4 Mesake Vocevoce 5 Isoa Nasilasila 6 Meli Derenalagi 7 Motikiai Murray 8 Elia Canakaivata 9 Frank Lomani (cc), 10 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 11 Tanilea Rakuro 12 Inia Tabuavou 13 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre 14 Junior Ratuva 15 Ilaisa Droasese. Reserves: 16 Mesulame Dolokoto 17 Peni Ravai 18 Meli Tuni 19 Leona Rotuisolia 20 Kitione Salawa 21 Peni Matawalu 22 Caleb Muntz 23 Iosefo Masi
Hurricanes: 1 Xavier Numia 2 Jacob Devery 3 Tevita Mafileo 4 Caleb Delany 5 Hugo Plummer 6 Brad Shields (cc) 7 Du'Plessis Kirifi (cc) 8 Brayden Iose 9 Cameron Roigard 10 Harry Godfrey 11 Kini Naholo 12 Peter Umaga-Jensen 13 Bailyn Sullivan 14 Fatafehi Fineanganofo 15 Callum Harkin. Reserves: Replacements: (12-23): Raymond Tuputupu, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Pasilio Tosi, Will Tucker, Peter Lakai, Ereatara Enari, Riley Hohepa, Ngatungane Punivai.
