Highlanders eye Taveuni rebound
He said poor execution and handling errors allowed Tailevu to score two easy tries.
Monday 31 August 2026 | 10:30
Naitasiri Under-20 outside centre Judah Draiva (right) is tackled by Tailevu centre Jovilisi Rokoiri during their Skipper Cup Under-20 round 5 match at Nakelo District School on August 29, 2026.
Photo: loane Asioli
Naitasiri Under-20 coach Dan Ligairi says his side must improve its game management and execution after suffering a 32-29 loss to Tailevu in Round Five of the Skipper Cup Under-20 Championship.
The Highlanders went down to Tailevu in “The Battle of the Kubuna” at Nakelo District School last Saturday.
Speaking to SUNsports, Ligairi said his players failed to capitalise on key opportunities.
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“We missed a lot of opportunities. The boys played really hard, but we are still moulding our combination,” Ligairi said.
He said poor execution and handling errors allowed Tailevu to score two easy tries.
“Our mistakes today were in our game management. We gave away two easy tries to Tailevu, which we should have prevented,” he said.
“We have a heavy-packed force, but we didn’t execute well. The boys did well, but our game management and execution did not go our way.”
The Highlanders will now turn their attention to Taveuni in Round Six, with Ligairi determined to address the mistakes made against Tailevu.
“We’ll go back to the drawing board, work on our mistakes and improve our positional play. Next week we’ll prepare again against Taveuni,” he said.
Ligairi also thanked the Naitasiri supporters who turned up in numbers to back the team.
“I want to thank all the supporters who came in numbers to support the boys. Even though it didn’t go our way, we’ll come back strong next week against Taveuni,” he said.
