Why we lost? Captain tells

The momentum applied by the McDonald’s Fiji Drua resulted in Western Force 29-24 loss at Churchill Park in Lautoka, last Saturday.

This was gist of Western Force co-captain Trilleen Pomare’s (pictured) interview with rugby.com.au where he indicated that they are eyeing to win their back-to-back home games.

The Force gave up a handy 24-10 lead to go down against the Drua.

It had been an encouraging first half where the Force dominated possession and territory, scoring tries to Allana Sikimeti and Vani Buleki.

But the Drua grabbed hold of the momentum in a stunning burst with three tries within 15 minutes to snatch victory, holding out the Force’s late attempts for a game-winning score.

Pomare said: “I think we lost it in that last 20 minutes. They really changed the momentum.

“The crowd got behind them. Then we just didn’t play in the right areas.”

The result puts the Force on the back foot in the five-round competition where the side had the Round 1 bye.

The Force are already looking ahead to their next opportunity to get a win on the board, hosting the Queensland Reds at Wanneroo Rugby Club on Saturday.

The WA side are at home again seven days later against the NSW Waratahs on Saturday, June 27, at Palmyra Rugby Club. Both games are free entry.

Pomare said: “The good thing is we’ve got two back-to-back games at

home. Hopefully we can fix that up.”

When dissecting the Drua defeat, Pomare was pragmatic, albeit noting Ella Pietsch– who was on crutches post game- and Sera Naiqama both had to be replaced in the first half.

“We had an 80-minute fight out there,” she said.

“I think we had a lot of debutants and a few key changes early on. We really backed ourselves to finish it in the end but Dura were too strong, so credit to the girls.”

Pomare was glowing of the support at Churchill Park, with the Fijian out in numbers to get behind their team.

“Atmosphere was unreal,” she said.

“I know the Fijian people like to get behind their team, even though they’re not cheering for us. It’s always a great atmosphere to be a part of.”

This Saturday, the Drua travels to Govind Park in Ba to face ACT Brumbies