The Drua made the playoffs for the first time after just two years in the competition with their 43-17 win over the Queensland Reds in Suva at the weekend.
“They are 11-time champions, and this is our first-time taste of it, so we are prepared for a very physical game on Saturday,” Drua coach Mick Byrne said.
“We understand that we’ve got to be more physical than we have this year,” he said.
Byrne said the Drua had prepared well for the trip to Christchurch.
“They were very physical at training this week and that was scary to watch; they are ready to go down to Christchurch and compete in a quarter-final,” he said.
The coach said two years in the making to reach the playoffs had kept his team grounded after their weekend success.
The Drua watch their game against the Reds at training this week Photo / Fijian Drua
“There is an element of preparation that is needed that we haven’t had before, and focusing on that has certainly got us on the job straight away,” Byrne said.
The coach wasn’t expecting to make changes.
“I don’t like making too many changes to a winning team,” he said.
“We know once the finals start it is a whole new ball game. It is our knockout footy game and, to be fair, we’ve played a couple of weeks of knockout footy.
“If we lost against Moana Pasifika [in the penultimate round game] we were probably out of the finals and if we lost against the Reds we were out, so the last two games have been cut-throat and we’re ready for that.
“We’ve been ready for our last game for three weeks now.”
He said there were times when the Drua had disappointed by not lifting their game, but this wasn’t going to be the case on Saturday.
“I know they’ll leave nothing behind when they go out on Saturday, they’ll be as physical as they have been all year,” Byrne said.
He was reminded of his words earlier in the year: “Once they were in the quarter-final, anything can happen”.
Byrne replied: “Absolutely, it’s a game at a time, coaches talk ‘let’s play a game at a time’ and if you don’t win this Saturday you’re out.
“It is a great place to be and as we’ve had two weeks of practicing that, preparing for the game and going through it... against Moana we got a bit gun-shy when we got out in front but on Saturday against the Reds when we got out in front, we went on with it.
“If we didn’t go on with it, we would have risked losing it and the season was over.
“In all games this year we’ve seen sides getting upset by not going on with it and we obviously know that we are going into Christchurch, and they haven’t been beaten in a final series, I’m not sure how many teams they have played in the final that beat them earlier in the year,” Byrne said.
‘They will be physical’
Byrne didn’t expect anything different this week from the Crusaders, although they have a large injury count with Sam Whitelock in doubt, as he had to be replaced at halftime last week in the 27-26 defeat to the Hurricanes.
“They will be physical, they’ll be fast, and they’ll challenge our speed around the paddock especially from the set piece, so we’re preparing for that. We want to get early speed into our game,” Byrne said.
He said the Fijian Drua would play with the intensity they brought into the game against the Reds in Suva.
“We’ll certainly bring the intensity we need to perform but I don’t think it will be as intense for us as in Suva, I expect it will be there for them, however we can’t let this opportunity pass us by,” Byrne said.
The weather conditions in Christchurch “will be a bit cooler” than in Fiji but that would the same for both teams.
Fiji Airways are readying to fly Fijian Drua fans to Christchurch for what would be a monumental upset if the Drua can repeat their 25-24 win in Lautoka this season.
However, the Crusaders’ will be able to draw on their 61-3 win in Christchurch last year.
