Super W winner to face NZ champion

The McDonald’s Fijian Drua women will host NSW Waratahs in the Super W grand-final at Govind Park, Ba, on Saturday. This is the first time with the Super W semi-final and grand-final to be played in Fiji.

The Drua hammered Queensland Reds 31-5 in the first semi-final while Waratahs beat Western Force 33-24 at the HBF Park in Perth.

Defending Super W Champions Waratahs are hunting for their seventh title win while the Drua is going for their third.

The grand-final victor will go on to meet the winner of New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aupiki in the second-ever Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney, Australia, on Saturday, August 1.

Veteran prop still going strong

Veteran Drua loosehead prop Karalaini Naisewa is set to make her 31st appearance when they face the Waratahs in the grand-final.

Naisewa said reaching her 31st appearance is a big boost to her career and the Drua set-up as well.

“It’s a big game for us to host the Super W final for the first time on home soil,” Naisewa said.

“It’s a historic final here in Fiji. The girls have been lifting each other, and we know we’ll give it everything. We just have to trust our game plan and focus on what we need to improve this week.”

The Narata, Nadroga, native reached the milestone after making her 30th appearance in the Drua’s 31-5 semifinal win over the Reds>

Reflecting on her journey, Naisewa said she was grateful for the opportunity.

“I didn’t expect to come this far, but I thank God for making it possible. Without Him, I couldn’t have achieved this,” she said.

“I also want to thank my family for their unwavering support, my teammates and the Drua management.”

Watchout, warns Tahs captain

Meanwhile, Australia Sevens star Tia Hinds has made a memorable debut for the NSW Waratahs, powering them into the Super Rugby W Final with a 33-24 win over the Western Force.

Hinds crossed for a first half double to build a commanding lead that proved critical as the Force mounted a late charge for a maiden finals appearance.

Former Fijiana 7s rep and now Force winger Vani Buleki helped engineer the second-half comeback, but it was too little, too late as the Waratahs’ dream of a three-peat stays alive.

“I’m so happy and proud. I feel like we haven’t played as Waratahs we know how we can play this season so to come around and have two solid weeks together, good reflection and when it matters play some good rugby (is awesome),” a relieved Waratahs captain Emily Chancellor told rugby.com.au.

“We know how clinical we can be and we saw that in the first half. When we can hold onto some phases and build some momentum, we are so hard to play against.

“I’m so proud of how we showed up in the first half but we’ve talked about being a team that plays two halves of footy and we got better in that so watch out for that final because we’re playing the full 80.”

Hinds’ influence was massive after she had missed the entirety of the regular season with a calf injury picked up during the SVNS World Championship.

SUPER W FINAL:

• Fijian Drua v Waratahs
• Kick-off: 1pm, Saturday
• Venue: Govind Park, Ba