Playing the Drua in Fiji is fast becoming the toughest task any Super Rugby Pacific side has to take on in their season.
The Drua’s most recent outing – a 28-24 win over the previously unbeaten Chiefs in Lautoka – was the perfect representation of what makes matches in Fiji so difficult, with wet conditions, raucous fans, and the Drua’s unique style of rugby all proving too much for the competition’s table-toppers.
Drua coach Glen Jackson – once a Chiefs and Bay of Plenty first-five, and former referee – knows how important the home supporters are.
“Rugby is a religion here in Fiji. They [the players] just don't want to let anyone down,” Jackson told Martin Devlin on the DSPN.
"Our boys have a lot of family and friends from the villages, and relatives and everyone that turn up… I think it's just that added pressure of playing in front of them and performing in front of a pretty big audience.
"The embankment's always awesome. Everyone loves to get on that. It brings back a bit of club rugby feel to it, and if you look at all the stands around the world, it's probably something that everyone loves to turn up to and enjoy - the good kava sessions on the bank."
To think that a team that only entered the competition three years ago is the hardest to beat on their turf might be hard to believe, but the numbers back it up. The Drua have won 70 per cent of their matches in Fiji, with 12 of their 15 victories all-time being on home soil. Eight of those wins are in Lautoka, and four in Suva.
Fiji being a holiday hotspot also helps encourage away fans to make the trip.
"I know there was a lot of family and friends from the Chiefs as well, who just loved the atmosphere and occasion,” Jackson said.
“It's amazing seeing how many people are still here on holiday and saying they'll be back again, because it was such a great game and great atmosphere.
“I know our brand in four years, it's become a massive addition to Super Rugby, but not only that, I think World Rugby… you see Drua stuff everywhere now."
The Drua - also the only Super Rugby franchise based outside of New Zealand and Australia - is a disappointing 1-3 to start the 2025 season. But those three defeats are all by an average margin of 4.3 points.
Jackson is relatively pleased with their start, given they have seven points through four games. He added they already have more bonus points (three) than they did in all of 2024 (two).
"One of our things we did this year, we did a lot of rotations of our squad,” Jackson said. “I wanted to make sure that every player played, and we did that over the first three weeks. No one's played more than two games."
Those rotations may prove vital over the next five weeks. In that period of time, the Drua have four games, with three of them coming on the road. The one home fixture is against the Crusaders on 5 April, a team they have beaten twice in Fiji over the last two years.
This weekend the Drua are away to the Brumbies in Canberra, before a trip to Perth to take on the Western Force - two matches that could determine their season.
Catch new episodes of the Devlin Sports Podcast Network (DSPN) every weekday on rova.
