{"id":463408,"date":"2026-02-07T01:25:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T01:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463408\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T01:25:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T01:25:09","slug":"manasa-mataele-tackles-persisting-question-over-druas-away-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/463408\/","title":{"rendered":"Manasa Mataele tackles persisting question over Drua’s away record"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Fiji<\/a> homecoming is sparking Manasa Mataele\u2019s Rugby World Cup<\/a> dream as the electric winger vows to roll up his sleeves for the Drua.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old has arrived home after eye-catching Super Rugby Pacific<\/a> stints with the Crusaders, Chiefs<\/a> and Western Force.<\/p>\n

Trademark running rugby has ensured the Drua have flourished at home since their 2022 debut season, winning 15 of 22 games across Suva and Lautoka.<\/p>\n

But they boast just three wins in four seasons on foreign soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where the leaders have come into it and impressed that point,\u201d Mataele told AAP.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow we can be consistent away from home?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is to play the moment, not looking too far ahead. And our aggression shouldn\u2019t change, whether we\u2019re away or home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mataele\u2019s inclusion is a welcome one after the Drua, who begin their campaign in Lautoka against Moana Pasifika<\/a> next Saturday, after being gutted in the offseason.<\/p>\n

Mainstay and captain Tevita Ikanivere<\/a>, Caleb Muntz<\/a>, Ratu Leone Rotuisolia, Selestino Ravutaumada<\/a>, and star midfielder Iosefo Masi<\/a> have all departed.<\/p>\n

But former Wallabies and Force<\/a> halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa<\/a>, who has Fijian heritage, and lock Temo Mayanavanua<\/a>, back from Europe, will add starch alongside Mataele.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can you do? You can\u2019t stop that,\u201d Mataele said of the inevitable player drain of Fijian stars to cashed-up foreign leagues.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the chemistry we have here has been really good, and we\u2019re coming back home with some expertise.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething I want to drive (is to) enjoy working hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ceiling is very high for our team. It\u2019s about seeing what we can do with what we have and how far we can go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mataele, who played the last of his four Tests in 2022, is known for his strong carries and brilliant offloads.<\/p>\n

There is a long line of explosive, younger backs jostling for spots, but Mataele believes, after an injury-riddled career that includes a fractured spine that had him contemplating retirement, he still has plenty to offer the world No.8 side.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup\u2019s the goal, for next year, and one of the reasons I came back home was for that, really,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put my best foot forward and hopefully put that white jersey back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo play in front of family and friends (for the Drua) \u2026 the crowd, it\u2019s crazy. It\u2019s going to be very cool, very emotional and very different to playing at other clubs.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Fiji homecoming is sparking Manasa Mataele\u2019s Rugby World Cup dream as the electric winger vows to roll…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463409,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-463408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}