The NSW Waratahs produced one of the most remarkable results of the Super Rugby Pacific season, demolishing the Fijian Drua 50–35 in Suva to snap a 15-game losing streak outside Australia and keep their finals hopes alive. Eight different try-scorers crossed for the visitors, who raced to a 36–7 half-time lead before the Drua’s second-half fightback proved too little, too late.
Key moments
Pre-match – LATE CHANGE WARATAHS: Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii withdrawn with hamstring tightness. Sid Harvey moves from bench to starting wing, Triston Reilly shifts from wing to centre, George Poolman joins the bench.
5 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Matt Philip brings down the lineout and Ioane Moananu comes steaming around the corner, dishing off a lovely short ball to Harry Potter, who bursts straight through the gap to score the opener. Sid Harvey misses the conversion. (Drua 0–5 Waratahs)
13 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Philip claims the lineout and the Waratahs set up the driving maul, inching forward before Ioane Moananu dots down at the back. Harvey converts. (Drua 0–12 Waratahs)
19 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Jack Bowen stabs a kick through the defensive line and Issak Fines-Leleiwasa cannot gather it cleanly. Max Jorgensen chases the kick and dives on the loose ball to score. Harvey converts. (Drua 0–19 Waratahs)
22 mins – TRY DRUA: Elia Canakaivata charges off the back of the scrum before Issak Fines-Leleiwasa taps a penalty quickly and finds Mesake Doge, who barges over under the posts. Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula converts. (Drua 7–19 Waratahs)
25 mins – TRY WARATAHS: The Waratahs swing it left as Triston Reilly finds Max Jorgensen, who shifts it across to Sid Harvey. Harvey steps off his left and breaks through Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula’s tackle to dive over. Harvey misses the conversion. (Drua 7–24 Waratahs)
29 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Clem Halaholo finds Teddy Wilson on his inside and the halfback strolls in untouched. TMO review clears Charlie Gamble of obstruction and the try stands. Harvey misses the conversion. (Drua 7–29 Waratahs)
34 mins – YELLOW CARD DRUA: Teddy Wilson darts from the back of the ruck and steams towards the 22. Isikeli Rabitu is sent to the sin bin for a cynical action in the ruck.
35 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Matt Philip claims the lineout and the Waratahs work the ball through the backs. Triston Reilly is cut down five metres short before Angus Scott-Young powers over. Jack Bowen converts. (Drua 7–36 Waratahs)
Half-time: Drua 7–36 Waratahs. A nightmare first half for the Drua, completely overrun by a clinical Waratahs side who crossed six times in 40 minutes. Potter opened the floodgates before the visitors’ set-piece dominance and tactical kicking took control. Wilson was superb at halfback, Jorgensen was electric, and Bowen impressed in his first start of the season. Doge’s try was the Drua’s only response, and Rabitu’s yellow card compounded a brutal half.
44 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Lawson Creighton steams forward from halfway and finds Ioane Moananu, who pins his ears back and scores his second under the posts. Bowen converts. (Drua 7–43 Waratahs)
47 mins – TRY DRUA: The Waratahs steal a lineout, but the Drua pile over and steal the ball back. Elia Canakaivata powers over from close range. Kemu Valetini converts. (Drua 14–43 Waratahs)
54 mins – TRY DRUA: From a five-metre scrum, the Drua build nine phases under penalty advantage before Kitione Salawa spots the space near the ruck and drives over. Valetini converts. (Drua 21–43 Waratahs)
62 mins – TRY WARATAHS: Apolosi Ranawai picks and goes from close range on his emotional return to Fiji, slamming the ball down under the posts. Bowen converts to bring up the half-century. (Drua 21–50 Waratahs)
71 mins – TRY DRUA: Kemu Valetini gets a nice offload to Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, who charges up the middle and dives over. TMO review confirms the try. Valetini converts. (Drua 28–50 Waratahs)
80+1 mins – TRY DRUA: From the lineout, the Drua drive forward before Temo Mayanavanua squeezes over under the posts for the final try. Valetini converts. (Drua 35–50 Waratahs)
Full-time: Fijian Drua 35–50 NSW Waratahs
Match report
Nobody saw this coming. The Waratahs arrived in Suva on a three-game losing streak, without a victory outside Australia since 2022, and had lost their star centre Suaalii to hamstring tightness in the warm-up. The Drua, by contrast, were unbeaten at home this season and had the raucous HFC Bank Stadium crowd behind them in what was effectively a finals eliminator. What followed was one of the most comprehensive away performances in the competition’s history, as the Waratahs tore through the hosts with a precision and purpose that left the Suva crowd stunned into silence.
The damage was done in a devastating first half. Moananu, starting in place of the injured Dobbins, set the tone with a sneaky pass that released Potter through a hole inside the opening five minutes. Eight minutes later, the hooker was at it again, this time dotting down himself at the back of a dominant rolling maul that underlined the Waratahs’ set-piece superiority. The Drua’s lineout was a shambles throughout — they lost six throws across the match — and their inability to secure clean possession meant they were constantly playing catch-up.
Bowen, handed a lifeline with his first start of the season amid an off-contract battle with Debreczeni and Creighton, seized his opportunity brilliantly. The 22-year-old’s kicking game was sharp and varied, his grubber in behind the Drua defence creating Jorgensen’s try in the 19th minute when Fines-Leleiwasa fumbled the collection. Jorgensen had been electric from the outset, his footwork and pace giving the Drua’s wide defenders nightmares.
Doge’s try from a tapped penalty provided the Drua with a brief moment of hope at 19–7, but it proved a false dawn. Harvey stepped through Armstrong-Ravula’s tackle to extend the lead before Wilson, who finished with 56 passes and 45 metres gained, strolled through untouched after Halaholo found him on the short side. The TMO cleared a potential obstruction, and the try stood.
Rabitu’s yellow card for a cynical infringement on Wilson in the 34th minute compounded the Drua’s misery, and the Waratahs made them pay immediately as Scott-Young powered over from close range. At 36–7 at the break, the home crowd knew it was over.
Moananu’s second try early in the second half, finishing off a sweeping move that began with Creighton’s bust from halfway, appeared to slam the door shut at 43–7. But to their credit, the Drua showed considerable heart in the final 35 minutes. Canakaivata powered over after the Drua reclaimed the ball from a stolen Waratahs lineout, and Salawa drove over after nine relentless phases from a five-metre scrum, with Valetini converting both to reduce the deficit to 21–43.
The emotional highlight of the afternoon belonged to Ranawai. The 32-year-old Fiji-born prop, who shed 33 kilograms from a peak of 168 kilograms to earn his Super Rugby debut just two rounds earlier, picked and drove over from close range in front of his home nation. Bowen’s conversion brought up the half-century and sealed the bonus point. “I remember talking to him back in July last year and he was pretty shocked that he was getting a phone call to potentially come and play Super Rugby,” McKellar said. “The work that he’s put in — it just goes to show, never give up on your dream.”
Samusamuvodre and co-captain Mayanavanua added late consolation tries for the Drua, who showed the fight the Suva faithful expected even if it arrived far too late. The loss also marked the end of Glen Jackson’s tenure as Drua coach on home soil, with the match confirmed as his final game at HFC Bank Stadium after mutually deciding not to exercise the third-year option in his contract. “There were a couple of key moments that we weren’t urgent enough in,” Mayanavanua said. “That’s not good for us.”
Philip, who led the side superbly from lock, praised the halves combination that drove the performance. “I thought the partnership between Teddy and Bowey was awesome to see,” the captain said. “Very pleased we could stick to how we wanted to play this week. We haven’t been able to do that for the last three or so games.” McKellar echoed the sentiment. “We’re starting to use the ball again like we were in the start of the season,” he said. “Being less conservative and looking to attack before we kick it.”
The bonus-point victory lifts the Waratahs to seventh on the ladder, one point behind the sixth-placed Reds with two rounds remaining. The result was the first time they had scored 50 on the road since 2018.
Match details
Fijian Drua 35 (Tries: Doge, Canakaivata, Salawa, Samusamuvodre, Mayanavanua; Conversions: Armstrong-Ravula 1/1, Valetini 4/4)
NSW Waratahs 50 (Tries: Potter, Moananu 2, Jorgensen, Harvey, Wilson, Scott-Young, Ranawai; Conversions: Harvey 2/5, Bowen 3/3)
Half-time: 7–36
Venue: HFC Bank Stadium, Suva
Referee: James Doleman (New Zealand). Assistant Referees: Marcus Playle, Fraser Hannon. TMO: Aaron Paterson.
Teams
Fijian Drua: 15 Isikeli Rabitu, 14 Frank Lomani (co-c), 13 Tuidraki Samusamuvodre, 12 Virimi Vakatawa, 11 Manasa Mataele, 10 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 9 Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Etonia Waqa, 5 Temo Mayanavanua (co-c), 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Mesake Doge, 2 Zuriel Togiatama, 1 Peni Ravai.
Replacements: 16 Kavaia Tagivetaua, 17 Emosi Tuqiri, 18 Samuela Tawake, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Isoa Tuwai, 22 Philip Baselala, 23 Kemu Valetini.
NSW Waratahs: 15 Max Jorgensen, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Triston Reilly, 12 Lawson Creighton, 11 Sid Harvey, 10 Jack Bowen, 9 Teddy Wilson, 8 Angus Scott-Young, 7 Charlie Gamble, 6 Clem Halaholo, 5 Miles Amatosero, 4 Matt Philip (c), 3 Dan Botha, 2 Ioane Moananu, 1 Jack Barrett.
Replacements: 16 Oniti Finau, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Apolosi Ranawai, 19 Ben Grant, 20 Jamie Adamson, 21 Michael McDonald, 22 Jack Debreczeni, 23 George Poolman.
What’s next
The Waratahs return home to host the ACT Brumbies in Sydney on Friday, needing at least one more win from their final two matches to stay in the finals hunt. The Drua travel to Perth to face the Western Force next weekend, with their season effectively over after this result.
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