Fijian Drua produced a memorable upset, beating the ACT Brumbies 42-27 at a sell-out 4R Stadium in Ba to claim their first-ever Super Rugby victory over the Canberra side after eight attempts. A raucous home crowd watched the Drua dominate through forward power, opportunistic back play and clinical kicking to secure a milestone win that will buoy the squad’s campaign.
The Drua set the tone from the outset, their forwards charging through the middle under vocal support from the stands. Isaiah Armstrong opened the scoring with an early penalty as the home side applied sustained pressure. The Brumbies responded when their backline crafted space from a grubber by Kadin Pritchard, allowing Hudson Creighton to finish in the corner and pull Canberra level.
Momentum swung back the Drua’s way when lanky blindside flanker Etonia Waqa slipped a sidestep through the defence and raced over to give the hosts the lead after a successful conversion. The win was made all the more significant by a late change to the Drua hooker role; Zuriel Togiatama withdrew with illness and Sairusi Ravudi was handed a start. Ravudi held his own and, later in the match, sealed a personal milestone by scoring off a driving maul.
Canberra’s forwards hit back before halftime through second-rower Toby Machperson after a series of pick-and-go phases, briefly putting the Brumbies ahead. The Drua then weathered a potentially costly spell when Mesake Doge and Elia Canakaivata were both sent to the sin bin, but they remained competitive despite being down two men. Armstrong’s accurate boot — he and kicker(s) from the staff combined to keep the scoreboard ticking — nudged the Drua back in front, and Canakaivata made amends on his return by crossing for a try in the 36th minute to give Ba’s side an eight-point half-time cushion.
The second half opened with an unusual tactical flourish from Waqa, whose long kick into Brumbies territory set up a lineout and a driving maul that debutant hooker Ravudi converted into a try. Drua lineout execution stayed strong as the skies above Ba opened up, and Armstrong produced an audacious cross-field kick to Joji Nasova that led to an offload and a try for Ilaisa Droasese out wide. Despite that, the Brumbies briefly mounted a comeback with two successive tries that closed the gap to 32-22 with about 20 minutes remaining.
Armstrong added another penalty to extend the lead, and a moment of individual brilliance from outside centre Tuidraki Samusamuvodre — a perfectly timed chip, regather and offload to Droasese — produced another score that effectively sealed the result. The Brumbies managed a late consolation try, but could not stem the Drua surge; the final score read Drua 42, Brumbies 27.
The win is a landmark for the Drua franchise: their first triumph over a Brumbies side that had previously proved a bogey team. It also underlined the depth and adaptability of the home side, with Ravudi stepping up at short notice and returning to score, and the pack showing resilience during the sin-bin period. The victory in front of a full house at 4R Stadium will be a significant boost as the Drua continue their Super Rugby campaign.
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