Defence is the buzz word as the NSW Waratahs look to avoid being seduced into a game of razzle dazzle rugby against the flamboyant Fijian Drua.
The Waratahs return to action on Friday night after a second-round bye intent on not falling into the trap of trying to match the all-out attacking style of the free-wheeling Pacific Islanders.
Both the Brumbies and Hurricanes have needed to score in excess of 30 points to defeat the Drua in the opening two rounds and the Waratahs are wary of getting caught up in a try-scoring tit for tat at Allianz Stadium.
Fixture
Super Rugby Pacific
Waratahs
Fijian Drua
“You need to make sure you’ve got your error count nice and low,” Tahs coach Dan McKellar said on Monday.
“Make sure you tackle well or they’ll hurt you off turnover attack. They’re very dangerous.
“We all know how Fiji play – they offload and are very good on transition, so we need to be need to be clinical.
“We’re going to make errors. There’s no doubt. We just need to shut them down quickly.”
Head-to-Head
Last 5 Meetings
Average Points scored
It’s not just the Drua piling on points this season.
The try-scoring extravaganza has been exciting for fans but McKellar is warning his side not to try to beat the Fijians at their own game in Sydney.
“We won’t go out there and try and play like Fiji,” he said.
“I think we’d get well beaten if that was the case. We’ll play our game.
“We’ve got improvement to make around our D zone defence, but Super Rugby’s always tended to have that at the beginning of the season.
“Defences are sort of working out their system and getting on the same page.
“But for me it’s been just quality attack (from all teams). In that respect, having the bye straight after was beneficial because that was good to get a couple of days away and review some some harsh learnings, but pleasingly off the back of a win.
“Being far from perfect and still winning your first game, that’s a good sign for us.”
Despite losing their opening two matches, the Drua still harbour hopes of winning the title in just their fourth season in the competition.
An average of 75 points were scored across the five games at the weekend after the Waratahs escaped with a 37-36 high-scoring thriller in round one against the Highlanders.
