Fijian Drua No.8 Elia Canakaivata attacks against the Reds at Churchill Park.
Photo: Fiji Drua
Queensland Reds, with three Fijians in their lineup, have beaten Fijian Drua 21-6 at Lautoka’s Churchill Park in a Super Rugby Pacific round six clash.
Meanwhile, Moana Pasifika could not contain the might of defending champion Crusaders, going down 50-21 at the North Harbour Stadium.
The weekend turned out disappointing for both Pasifika teams, whose hopes of winning at home were blown away by their respective opponents.
The Reds fielded Fijians Filipo Daugunu, Seru Uru and Ben Volavola against the Drua.
Three converted tries – including two in the second half – got the Reds home in the end, their first Super Rugby win on Fiji soil in the competition.
Drua could not find any holes in the Reds defence during the 80 minutes and lost momentum midway through the second half, when the visitors upped momentum and took control of the game.
Knock-ons at critical moments gave away possession and killed the Drua momentum.
The home side also lost several of their own lineout throws, with the Reds using this possession to attack the Fijians time and time again.
The result means Drua rremain stuck in the bottom two of the competition table, while the Reds keep their spot in the top four.
Reds led 7-6 at halftime, with a try to Kalani Thomas, converted by Harry McLaughlin-Phillips. Drua’s points came from two Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula penalties
Drua fullback Ilaisa Droasese had the best chance to claim the lead for his side, but he knocked the ball to the ground close to the corner flag in the last play of the first half, with the Reds defence well beaten.
Daugunu and Uru combined well in the first half, with Daugunu winning a turnover ball, which led to the Reds try in the first 40 minutes.
Reds enjoyed 62 percent in the first-half territory, with a good kicking game. They defended strongly in the first half and did not allow Drua to break through.
Fullback Jock Campbell, who played his 100th game for the Reds, was sent off in the 43rd minute for a technical foul, after Elia Canakaivata had made a break, as the Drua went on attack with a series of phases.
The Reds were not deterred, as Daugunu saved the visitors with a turnover claim in the 44th minute, and 10 minutes later, Uru broke the Drua defence to send captain Harry Wilson running deep into the Drua 22-metre zone.
The ensuing ruck saw flyhalf McLaughlin-Phillips pick up, dummy and run over to score. He converted the try, as the Reds led 14-6.
A clear momentum shift was seen from the Reds, when their bench was activated and replacements, led by former All Black Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, took to the field.
They started winning the battles on the ground, the lineouts and scrums.
Consecutive penalties against Peni Ravai and captain Frank Lomani gave the Reds an opportunity to continue their go-forward momentum.
A lineout in the 59th minute saw replacement Reds hooker Richie Asiata claim their third try, with McLaughlin-Phillips’ conversion claiming the 21-6 lead, as the game closed for the end.
Lomani was disappointed to lose the clash, but congratulated the Reds for the victory.
“Thank the Reds for the very physical and good game,” he told Sky Sports. “We didn’t capitalise on what we talked about this week.
“We went into their half, but we could not execute. We spoke about the fact that we could not make mistakes in our half and they capitalised.”
Drua assistant coach Chris Gibbs said they needed to control the game better and get in front.
“We playing for territory pretty well in the first half… just a little bit of discipline there,” he said.
“We can’t sit back and wait for the Reds to play, we have to get there in front of it. We have to be the team that plays first.”
Winning captain Wilson said the win was for their 100-game player, Campbell.
“Awesome to get our first win here,” he said. “Drua are a really good team… our performance today was the best.
“The boys wanted to play for each other and perform for Jock.”
Moana beaten well
At Albany, the story was pretty much the same for Moana Pasifika, who hoped to get one over the Crusaders again.
While the side fought back to lead 14-12 in the first half, they lost the plot after that, as the defending champions turned the heat on.
Moana Pasifika did have one last flourish and scored a late try, but as often as they had done in four other previous outings, their comeback was too little.
Moana Pasifika halfback Joel Lam.
Photo: Moana Pasifika
Prop Abraham Pole did not have a memorable night, playing his 50th game for the club, while former All Black Julian ‘The Bus’ Savea left the field injured in his return to the side.
For the first time in 2026, the Crusaders went back-to-back with the victory.
They led 12-0 early, but their hosts hit back and scored two converted tries to claim the lead.
Midfielder Braydon Ennor and winger Sevu Reece scored the visitors’ tries, before Moana Pasifika hit back.
First Tevita Ofa and then impressive halfback Joel Lam went over, with flyhalf Patrick Pelligrini converting both tries.
Fijian heritage player Chay Fihaki and hooker George Bell scored a double each for the Crusaders.
“That was a tough battle out there, to be honest,” Crusaders captain Will Jordan told Sky Sport. “I think you can see all the boys are feeling it.
“You could see in that set with about 10 minutes to go, we were going about 30 phases, going nowhere. Moana are certainly a very physical side and a proud side as well.
“It’s good for us to get our season back on track and I think the bye comes at a good time for us to freshen up.”
Crusaders scored five tries in the second half to Leicester Fainga’anuku, Kurtis MacDonald, Fihaki and a double to hooker Bell.
Moana Pasifika captain Miracle Failangii said they just could not break the Crusaders.
“That was a tough one,” he said. “Crusaders took their chances, we slipped and did not continue what we managed to do right.
“Lots of learnings again, but we will continue working hard.”
The win finds Crusaders in the top six, finishing the round at fifth position with 14 points.
Hurricanes and the Blues share the lead with 20 points each, while the Brumbies are third with 19 points and the Reds fourth with 18.
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