Drua 'alert'

Defence and fitness will be the Queensland Reds main weapons when they face the Fijian Drua in Saturday’s Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific clash at Churchill Park, Lautoka.

The Reds shocked the Waratahs on Saturday night when they came from behind to win 26-17 at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Reds head coach Les Kiss was excited with his players new found confidence.

“We absorbed a lot of possession pressure but we stayed in the fight. I was really rapt for the boys,” said Kiss.

“We had different people stand up in different moments.”

The Reds won with just 38 percent possession and were forced to make 181 tackles to 104 by the Waratahs in a reflection of how deep they needed to dig.

Trailing 17-12 on 70 minutes, utility back Filipo Daugunu burstthrough the defence to send centre Isaac Henry careering away on a 40-metre run to the try-line for 19-17 advantage. Then four minutes later Carter Gordon beat two defenders from almost a standing start to score from 55 metres out and seal the win.

“That finish. We spoke about it,” said Reds skipper Fraser McReight.

In Round 4, the Reds also scored a similar win they came from behind to upset Brumbies 34-31 in Canberra.

Rugby League convert and firstfive eighth Gordon has been a revelation for the Reds scoring their match winning tries against the Brumbies and Waratahs.

Drua captain Frank Lomani has made it clear (after their 42-27 win over the Brumbies) that they need to continue on with the momentum right to the Reds clash.

An interesting battle looms at No.10s with Drua’s Isaiah Armstrong- Ravula coming up against Gordon.

Drua head coach Glen Jackson had been impressed with Ravula’s kicking game.

“It’s good when you take penalty shots and he slots them over. The 50-22 kick he nailed was crucial and some of his cross-court kicks were really good. I think everyone in Fiji knows that Isaiah is a great talented player and just getting time on the paddock at 10 is going to be awesome for him.”

Jackson said that Ravula is growing each time he plays and he is also kicking well.

The only setback from the Drua match, Jackson says, was the slip they made in the 80th minute that resulted in Brumbies try to Adam Muirhead.

The match kicks-off at 3.35pm.

Meanwhile, the Blues thrashed Moana Pasifika 43-7 at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand, yesterday.