Fijiana announce Super W arrival in style
Fijiana Drua have taken to Super W in scintillating fashion, destroying the Melbourne Rebels 66-5 in their competition debut.
The new side have relocated from Fiji to the Gold Coast to be part of the six-team league, with the country's top talent vying for spots in the national team for this year's World Cup.
They produced a combination of brilliant skill and intimidating physicality to trounce the hosts at Endeavour Hills Rugby Club after the Brisbane floods forced the game to be shifted from Suncorp Stadium.
The front row of Vika Matarugu, Karalaini Naisewa and Jiowana Sauto had a day out, all scoring tried in the first half.
Naisewa's was a barnstorming effort from the restart, while fullback Roela Radiniyavuni wasn't missing out as she tapped quickly then dove over would-be tacklers to find the line.
Radiniyavuni had her second moment after the restart before Kolora Lomani scored twice inside four minutes as the floodgates opened and the No.15 secured her hat-trick.
The teams joined together for a song after the game, before Drua captain Bitila Tawake promised more of the same next week against the Queensland Reds.
"That (free-flowing style) is something that Fijian rugby is made of," she said.
"For us it was about getting that nervous feeling out (at the start) of the game and then we were so excited."
The Rebels never stopped tackling though and eventually found points, keeping the ball alive before Nawel Remini beat a number of tackles to score with three minutes to play.
"What can I say I've never played 80 minutes of (rugby) sevens before," Rebels captain Mel Kawa said.
"They played fast-paced, up-tempo footy; I thought if we could hold them up for the first 15 minutes, but they kept coming.
"But we didn't give up, even though we were gassed."
The Drua were only admitted into the competition last month.
But their immediate dominance has sent a message around the competition before a date with the Queensland Reds next Saturday.
The victory came a day after the Fijian Drua men's outfit notched their first Super Rugby Pacific win, toppling the Rebels in a comeback victory on the Sunshine Coast.
- AAP
Tahs fight back for opening Super W win
The NSW Waratahs have come from behind to claim victory in their Super W opener against the Brumbies at Canberra Stadium.
Trailing 10-0 early, the Waratahs took over with four straight tries and worked their way to a 31-17 victory on Saturday night.
Tahs coach Campbell Aitken said trailing was a new experience for the squad, but he was proud of the way they'd risen to the occasion.
"I was pretty pleased with the composure, we certainly spoke about being more aggressive ... that expectation and desire should be a given when you wear the Waratahs jersey and I felt that was missing in the first half," he said.
"We really emphasized that at halftime ... we picked up and sort of went away."
It took them a while to click into gear, with the Brumbies able to strike first on 16 minutes through persistent driving rain as Ash Hewson produced a perfect pass for Jemima McCalman to score under the posts.
The Brumbies surged on with power running from forward Grace Kemp driving them into attack, before Hewson slotted a penalty to extend their advantage.
The Waratahs would have been disappointed not to take points from the game's opening 15 minutes where strong kicking from Pauline Piliae and Lori Cramer saw them camped deep inside opposition territory, but a sublime chip from the former found her side a lifeline, with Emily Chancellor scoring their first try.
Brumby Siokapesi Palu copped a yellow card early in the second half for a high shot and the Tahs immediately capitalised through a powerful rolling maul, which drove in Piper Dunk for a try and the lead.
And the visitors extended their advantage as they got running through Cramer, with the fullback able to pick out Mahalia Murphy to score in the corner for a 19-10 lead, before the powerful winger doubled up minutes later with a solo effort.
The Brumbies gave themselves a sniff with McCalman able to run onto an inch-perfect kick from Hewson and make it 26-17 with just four minutes to play.
But the Tahs quickly snuffed that out with Murphy able to gather a kick and score in the right corner for a third time to ice the contest.
Piliae was most impressive for the Waratahs with her poise able to pull the strings throughout, although Murphy's hat-trick perhaps challenged her for player of the match honours.
"(Murphy) was special, she's got that X-factor and she's one of the players that we do rely on to give us that extra spark," Aitken said.
- AAP
Queensland Reds winger Ivania Wong has played a starring role as she helped ensure the Western Force's return to Super W ended in a 43-7 home defeat at HBF Park.
Wong scored a try and unleashed a series of dazzling runs in the Reds' seven-tries-to-one romp on Friday, while 16-year-old playmaker Skyla Adams was also influential with a try of her own to secure the bonus-point win.
It marked a tough return to competitive rugby for the Force, who pulled out of last year's Super W competition after just one round to ensure they didn't get stranded over east due to border restrictions.
Force playmaker Trilleen Pomare tried her best to spark her team, but the Reds simply had too many attacking weapons.
The scoreboard read 31-0 when the Force crossed for their first try in the 62nd minute, with substitute Tui Cope taking a quick tap and spinning her body over an opponent to touch down.
By then the damage had already been done, with Wong in the thick of the action throughout.
"Disappointing start to the season for us, it's not what we were hoping for," Pomare said. "We're just lucky to get some game time in front of family and friends, so it's good to be back playing rugby on home soil."
- AAP