Fijiana Drua have completed an incredible unbeaten debut Super W season by beating the NSW Waratahs 32-26 in a thrilling final in Melbourne.
The seesawing, high quality match was a fitting end to the competition and the Drua’s win denied NSW the title for the first time in Super W history.
NSW leaned on its set-piece strengths to frequently trouble the Fijians but the Drua’s fast and flamboyant style won the day in a six tries to three victory.
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Vitalina Naikore (Drua) and Natalie Delamere (Waratahs) both scored hat-tricks and the fulltime whistle sparked jubilant scenes at AAMI Park.
“It’s more than just a game to these girls,” Drua lock Jade Coates told Stan Sport’s Tim Horan.
“It’s years of hard work and dedication, sacrifice. It means a lot more than a game of rugby, I can tell you that. This is history for us and a game we’ll never forget.
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“This has created a pathway for girls and women playing rugby in Fiji. This is the start of something and we’re only going to go up from here.”
On the flipside, the tears flowed among the NSW players as they experienced the unfamiliar feeling of being in the loser’s circle.
“This hurts,” Waratahs captain Grace Hamilton said, while piling praise on the Fijians in a classy speech.
“We will learn from this and we’ll be back bigger and stronger.”
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