Fijian Drua players defend against the Rebels in Melbourne on Friday. Photo: Fijian Drua
Mastering set-pieces and staying tuned on for the full 80 minutes - two critical areas the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika will need to keep check on in the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific competition.
Both sides played two trial matches each in the last three weeks, as pre-season warm-ups that gave the respective teams coaches the opportunity to test out players and different combinations.
While many may argue that the results on the scoreboard were not important, the lessons learned would have been worth it for both the Pacific islands players based franchises.
The Fijian Drua played the Australian sides Brumbies and the Rebels in their pre-season matches, while Moana Pasifika took on the New Zealand-based Highlanders and the Hurricanes.
With five days to go to tweak moves and combinations, both the Drua and Moana Pasifika will need to be on top of their game if they want to make an impressive start.
Fijian Drua captain Meli Derenalagi (right) faces off against Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu at the Super Rugby launch in Auckland on 14 February. The two teams face off in Whangarei on Saturday in their opening competition match. Photo: Super Rugby
Home quarterfinal goal
Switching on from the first whistle to the last, the two teams will need to be in the game for the whole 80 minutes of rugby.
The Fijian Drua started both their pre-season games with a bang.
Against the Brumbies, the Meli Derenalgi captained side led 28-24 at halftime, after having led 21-7 in the first quarter of the game.
They eventually lost 43-40 in the end.
Against the Rebels on Friday night the Drua outfit led 21-7 at halftime.
They could not find their rhythm in the second spell as the Rebels scored 19 unanswered points to claim a 26-21 victory in the end.
Derenalagi said they have had a tough pre-season program but they are now looking forward to the first round against the Blues in Whangarei on Saturday.
"The boys are putting their hands up to be part of the first 23 squad that will be named. It will be a tough competition between the players on who will don the jersies for the first fifteen," he said.
He said they have their focus on winning a home quarterfinal game, which means they will have to finish in the top four of the competition.
Drua have seven home matches and if their record of playing at home is anything to go by, the Fijians should be able to make the top eight at least for the second season in a row.
But finishing the game hard on top of the good starts they have shown in the past will be key for them.
Moana Pasifika on the attack against the Hurricanes in Upper Hutt last Friday. The Hurricanes won 59-26. Photo: Moana Pasifika
Getting better
Moana Pasifika, on the other hand, took the Highlanders to the wire in Dunedin three weekends ago, going down eventually 33-24, but with a better second half performance after trailing 21-5 at halftime.
They started well against the Hurricanes in Upper Hutt on Friday afternoon with Julian Savea also dotting down against his former team.
But in the end the Hurricanes proved too strong and scored two penalty tries, finishing the game with nine tries to their name.
Moana Pasifika were good in the first and last quarter of the game, but they will need to be consistent for the full 80 minutes to make an impression in the new season.
Captain James Lay believes the pre-season games were learning curves for his team and they would be better off with the experience and lessons learned.
"We started pretty strong but we have a lot of young players getting a taste of Super Rugby and what it's all about and the speed and the pressure and it's a great learning experience for them and they will only get stronger by doing that," Lay said.
Lays reckons they can be in the finals play-off later in the competition.
But getting there will be tough and they will have to be consistent throughout if they want to avoid finishing at the bottom of the table like the their first two seaons.
Areas Moana Pasifika will need to work on before they travel South again to tackle the Highlanders in their opening game this week include improving their scrums and lineouts.
The Hurricanes dominated against them in these two set-piece areas.
They have the players and the experience, but making sure the players gel and work together to win their own feeds and throws will be crucial.
Free flowing rugby
The Fijian Drua take on the Blues at 4.35pm (NZ Time) on Saturday while Moana Pasifika battles the Highlanders at 7.05pm on the same afternoon.
Getting wins will be the best start for the two sides going into the 2024 competition.
Then again both their opponents will also be aiming for the same.
One thing is certain though, a lot of excitement and free flowing rugby can be expected from the two Pasifika sides. Win or lose.