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Fijiana Drua book place in Super W decider with stunning comeback win
By AAP
Reigning champions Fijiana Drua are the first side through to the 2023 Super W grand final following a gripping 20-17 semi-final triumph over the NSW Waratahs in Sydney.
In a rematch of last year's title decider, the Drua staged a gallant comeback from 17-0 down early on to secure a thrilling victory at Concord Oval.
Chasing a second title in as many seasons in the competition, the Drua will play the winner of Sunday's second semi-final between the Queensland Reds and Brumbies.
Centre Vani Arei's second try 10 minutes from fulltime put the Drua in front for the first time and, despite attacking the opposition line in the closing minutes, the Waratahs were unable to conjure a winning play.
It was a disappointing end to the season for the Waratahs, who had entered the play-offs as unbeaten minor premiers and eyeing a fifth crown in six years.
They looked on track to gain sweet revenge for last year's grand final defeat after racing to a 17-0 lead in as many minutes with a try in the opening seconds to Desiree Miller and following up quickly by further five-pointers to fellow winger Maya Stewart and hooker Adiana Talakai.
But Miller only converted one of them as the Drua hit back with two tries in four minutes mid-half to powerhouse prop Siteri Rasolea and Arei to trail 17-12 at the break.
A 42nd-minute penalty goal to fullback Luisa Tisolo dragged the Fijians to within two points of the Tahs, who produced a spirited defence display to keep the Drua at bay despite being under pressure for most of the second half.
But Arei finally broke through in the 70th minute as the Drua snapped a three-match losing streak to break Waratahs hearts and progress to the GF.
The Tahs had trounced the Drua 31-5 in round three at the same venue and entered the finals favourites for the title.
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I’m all for speeding up the game. But can we be certain that the slowness of the game contributed to fans walking out? I’m not so sure. Super rugby largely suffered from most fans only being able to, really, follow the games played in their own time zone. So at least a third of the fan base wasn’t engaged at any point in time. As a Saffer following SA teams in the URC - I now watch virtually every European game played on the weekend. In SR, I wouldn’t be bothered to follow the games being played on the other side of the world, at weird hours, if my team wasn’t playing. I now follow the whole tournament and not just the games in my time zone. Second, with New Zealand teams always winning. It’s like formula one. When one team dominates, people lose interest. After COVID, with SA leaving and Australia dipping in form, SR became an even greater one horse race. Thats why I think Japan’s league needs to get in the mix. The international flavor of those teams could make for a great spectacle. But surely if we believe that shaving seconds off lost time events in rugby is going to draw fans back, we should be shown some figures that supports this idea before we draw any major conclusions. Where are the stats that shows these changes have made that sort of impact? We’ve measured down to the average no. Of seconds per game. Where the measurement of the impact on the fanbase? Does a rugby “fan” who lost interest because of ball in play time suddenly have a revived interest because we’ve saved or brought back into play a matter of seconds or a few minutes each game? I doubt it. I don’t thinks it’s even a noticeable difference to be impactful. The 20 min red card idea. Agreed. Let’s give it a go. But I think it’s fairer that the player sent off is substituted and plays no further part in the game as a consequence.
Go to commentsThose are pretty good draws for the two top Aussie teams. I certainly wouldn't want my Chiefs to have a quarter final in Brisbane. None of the top teams will want the Crusaders.
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