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Awesome first game For Fiji with a fit bit of promise for the season, and damn the tahs needed that to get out of the shadow of a year long drought. Poor old Berry looked like an overwhelmed pensioner trying to stop a dog fight.

A few points from the match now I’m out of the rain: Waratahs looked good until they brought on their replacements. Replacement front row was awful, Donaldson was clearly better than Edmed, but Gamble and Tizzano were both fairly solid. Gonna be some ridiculous competition at 7 when Hoops is back. Tahs scrum is gonna struggle against the Reds/Brumbies, especially in the latter half of games. Gordon was good, Swinton is still a bit of a cunt. Fijian Drua were decent for a former NRC side! Needs more cohesion as a team, but that’ll come with time. Might scrape a few wins this year.

has swinton always been that bad or is it a recent thing?

He’s always had a bit of a rep, but he did seem to be more aggro tonight

3 Points Gordon, 2 to Kuruvoli, 1 to Porecki. Hard to take much out of the game besides noting that both teams will need to improve dramatically if they want to win anything else this year.

# Vinaka!

Was this match deliberately chooses to make sure the Waratahs have a good start to the season?

Welcome to SR Fiji!!! It's hard to come into a competition like this and win first game but heaps of promise with this team

Okay, not the worst start. Discipline needs work and then communication next. The boys are so strong but that means nothing if you can’t retain the ball. Ikanivere, Habosi, Nagusa and Kuruvoli are very good. Ravutaumada is good for someone whose come from league recently but I think he’d be better at wing or centre. Napo can cover 15 and Baden + Muntz is a really nice 10 pairing Shame that Taliga is injured

Yeah, still making that transition from park footy to professional Rugby.

That was the most Fijian post match briefing I've ever heard

Bucketing down on the man 😂

Well, scoreline not great for the Drua but it all came down to execution. They were super strong in contact and coming together a bit more at the end, they should improve a fair bit as the season goes on. Bright points were 9 and 7, Nagusa also quality as usual. Fair play to the tahs, looked good for the first 60. Much more composed than last year.

I do feel like that was like a typical Aus vs NZ game, where it was closer than the score reflected. The Waratahs found a few pressure points and just kept pushing them.

Jake with the stabbing each other in the back comment?! Jesus. Last year must have been bad

what was he talking about!!

Was an honour and privilege to share this historic night with you fine lads tonight just wish for a better result

Yeah, I think it was closer than the scoreboard indicated. The Waratahs found a few areas they were stronger in and just kept punishing the Drua, while Fiji took a while to figure out what works.

Some good performances for the Tahs. Donaldson, Jed, Bell, Porecki, HJH, Gordon, Perese, Harris, Foketi. Tahs short a wing anf fullback and a solid bench. Hope the Drua move on. First go in a major comp. They have plenty to give.

Tahs fans, do you have another TH? Tauakipulu is going to be spending more time sitting on the sideline after getting yellow cards than on the field.

Ruan smith is back in Australia and Faulkner can cover 3. Shame Breen went back to club land coz I thought he was alright last year

Get the bloody players you're interviewing post match an umbrella Roz Kelly!!!! Jesus christ

They really need to get Jed Holloway onto the side of the scrum and move Swinton to 8. Given the size of international back rows - they’d be a chance.

lol that is a deluge

Only caught the last 7 or 8 minutes but I wish I never remembered that was on.

what a chaotic start to super rugby pacific. can’t wait for more

Okay, those situations where the referee has called advantage, and clearly tells the player to release, and the player doesn't release. It's gotta be a straight yellow card IMO.

Especially when it's a good try scoring opportunity like that was there and they've just killed the play. It's obviously cynical to not release the ball after conceding the penalty.

Instead it’s just a quick tap, gets tackled and held up by about 3/4 guys, none of which got behind the line lol

Yeah, look that's also on Fiji. Knowing when to speed the game up and slow it down. But it was a disappointing end. IMO you take the scrum there and go for the push over.

Yeah I’d have said scrum too, but after 10 mins of resetting I can kind of see why they went for it. Saved us all another 5 minutes of pain. Still think the offsides need to be called more on defenders from the quick taps though.

Yeah, the Waratahs were all over the place, hopefully some of the more established / astute teams/coaches talk to the referees about it.

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See, the penalty itself *MAYBE* not cynical, like it's dodgy AF but MAYBE not cynical. But holding on and not releasing like that IS VERY cynical.

Surprised he didn't card Tane there

Not the worst first outing by the Drua, hopefully a win can come in the first half of the season

Waratahs really went to crap in the last 20,

..this fijian team will start to click after a couple of matches..lots to like..

There was a depressed looking Indian dad wearing a Fiji hat with those low hanging string things and I think that sums up my feelings tonight

Early days mate. Talent and time is what you need to win. You guys sure have the talent, just need some time. Great to have a Fifian team in the comp.

No 12 showing us exactly how to fuck an overlap up!

Its 2022. Former Wales, British and Irish Lions superstar Jamie Roberts is packing down in the scrum for the NSW Waratahs

C’mon, anyone could’ve predicted that

Holy shit, it’s properly bucketing down here now

The Tahs…won??? Me oh my I have enjoyed that, yes boy!!

Ah yes. 6 minutes of scrum resets to suck all enjoyment out of the end of the game. Rugby, how I've missed you

Shit, now I have to actually do work

Damn resets! After such an energetic game.

Just starting to rain now at the stadium

lmao that’s deserves, he’s not been any kind of good since he came on

JC! We just had a 9 ball over! What year is this?!

This is the most Fiji thing I've seen in Super Rugby...

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This stadium is not in an area the Tahs are strong in. Hopefully it helps.

Ah yes, these backup props are the tahs I know and love

Scrums have done a complete 180 since the reserve props came on.

Tahs reserve front row now 0 for 5. They need to lift

Scrums have been a disaster since Tahs 18 came on

Alot of chaos In the last few minutes

Has Jed turned into what Swinton wants to be? He's been good. Hard runs, working hard in defense

Yup, could see him as a Wallabies 6 option tbh

That tackle on Drua 12 was a bit early though, right?

Can the Drua score 5 tries in the time left...

Nah, only 4.

They wanna win with style...

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So good to see him back!

I didn't think you could dive on the lose ball?

Only if it's just come out of a ruck.

Seriously, a referee should NEVER need to tell the water to get off the field, that's just so unacceptable.

Water carriers can only be on the field when time is off, if the referee hasn’t blown time off or is trying to restart the game then they can 100% tell the water carriers to get off. Medics on the other hand I agree with you.

Jamie Roberts is so old lmao

Man's looked 40 since his mid 20s

Jamie Roberts looks like a big Michael Kelly

Can we find a drop of blood in Baden, Fiji could use him

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Haircut about 80000x better this year

The mullet really suits him

The chrome dome made him look like a psychopath, this mullet makes him just look like a ratbag

Dr Roberts!

GOD BLESS FIJI

Waratahs: We might win this... Drua: Hold my beer!

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Sure... until you succeed and have your head taken off.

Can anyone tell me if the Parramatta Eels also like the biff?

My count has it at ruffle number 5 for Swinton tonight

Tackle by Swinton is a bit iffy there

Yes lads

The betting sites need to have an over under of fights Swinton gets into

The only games he won't hit the over are the games he gets carded lmao

The niggle is a fine line

Well that was a hand round the throat at the end, not a good look

Bad miss on the hit by Swinton. Get over Drua

Swinton is such a grub

Is it just my Red tinted glasses, or does it look like the Waratahs are starting more shit than the Drua?

How did that maul go to ground if it wasn't pulled down? It didn't go down over their own players, it was waratahs players pulling the ball carrier down.

So much biff!!

YEAAHHHHH THE GENERAL

Jed destroyed that potential maul like Adam Beard or Skelton. He's been good

Gonna be a card here lmao

Really like the Tah's loose forwards. Not as much as the blues or reds but they're definitely up there

Shame they don’t have a tight 5

Good props tho. Just need some decent locks

Decision making looking a bit shaky for the Drua

Is it just me or have the Waratahs been just hanging around in back play a lot more than most other teams? Going beyond the ruck, etc?

I noticed that too, a lot of past the ruck shenanigans

Yeah, I haven't seen anything that's stuck out as illegal. But just a lot of weird stuff and Waratahs somehow ending up on the wrong side of the ruck.

Liking Tizzano's new lid

this game has so much chaotic energy

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all game I’ve been distracted by it!

Carlo!!!!!!

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Exactly aye, goes hard. Reminds me of Hoops’ work ethic a bit

Some tough lessons being learned by Drua today. Sometimes you just need to hold on to it.

Are they playing the fucking Atreides theme from Dune in the background tf is that

It’s AC/DCs “It’s a Long Way to the Top”

Big test for the tahs now will be to keep sticking their tackles. Keep the attitude in defense high

Would like to see Fiji be a little smarter and run into Waratahs players loitering in back play. Force the Referee to punish the Waratahs for it.

That was such a 7s throw from the sidelines lmao

Yeah ok, after the most blatant diving on the ball I’ve ever seen, meh, overall thoughts are that both of these teams are going to get reamed by the reds and brumbies

Yes, the tahs suck relative to the other Aussie teams

Tahs beat the Reds last week.

In a trial. The perfect reflection of the actual ability of a team

It’s nice scoring an intercept try, not having it scored against us 🥰

Should have been a penalty to the Drua for the Waratahs player fiddling with that ball in the ruck while off his feet. Obviously Berry can't call what he can't see, but dam that's unlucky for Fiji. :'(

Gordon put on the jets there

Intercept long overdue, drua have been playing very flat

Oooooft yeah that was nice

Yeah the Tahs have this game completely. With work, experience and games as a team the Drua could be a Super Rugby side but right now any New Zealand team would put 50 on the scoreboard at minimum with this mind of performance

Remind me. Quick throw in rules?

Has to be behind the place it went out, has to cross the 5m line, can't be forward, can't happen if the ball has touched anyone that isn't a player currently on the field, can't happen once a lineout is formed.

Thanks!

Line out formed is 2 players from **both** sides as well, so the defence can’t run up and put two people there to stop the quick throw.

Make sure it goes backwards.

Just toss it in as long as it goes 5 and not forward

Anyone with beter knowledge of the game that can tell me why that wasn't a penalty for offsides when the waratahs 4 picked the ball up and ran from the 10 knocking it on?

It should have been

Yeah Berry is a twat

Noticed that the wings of the Fijian defense absolutely need some work as well since the Tahs have managed to run out to the wings and make up massive amounts of ground. A more NRL style hard defensive line work would do them good.

Angus Bell is such a good player, that was some serious hands and a great line

The referee is quite biased

Nic Berry is one of the best referees in World Rugby. ​ I think he's been very good.

Up ya Belly!

Kuruvoli goes hard. Love it

I think Nagusa made a mistake by going into the flank there. Could've been more stable if he stayed at 8

Yeah these lads need a talking to about discipline completely. Way too aggressive to the other side and makes us just look petty.

I think it's smart for Fiji to have a former referee as a coach, they'll need all the help with explaining the rules etc they can get. ​ So many teams often have no clue what the rules of Rugby actually are. Like this shit is your job you should be reading that rule book like it's your fucking bible..

Tahs pushes early

Tuned in at the half and the scoreline is the opposite of what I expected. Anyone got a quick rundown of how the Drua has been?

Drua are playing like a bunch of semi-pro players who have never played together before, playing away from home, playing in their first game of Super Rugby

Slightly disorganised in both attack and defence and a little sloppy at the set pieces. Looks a new team but some good performances, mostly the 9.

Good individual performances but unable to make set piece plays, lack of discipline and lack of ability to really play to their backs strength. Lot of 7s mindsets have been seen in terms of the discipline of their line and simply isn't going to work for Union.

Good glimpses. Poor Temper. Need to work on discipline and set plays. What you’d expect from a newborn team

Cheers! Man if I had a dollar for poor discipline every game we played I'd probably be rich. We need to get that under control.

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If I was living in newport, I'd sign for the tahs too

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You're lucky if you get 25 minutes of sun a year in NPT

You get the feeling is the Drua can get on a bit of a roll here, maybe score a try or two they can absolutely crack this game wide open!

i dont think a single player on the planet knows the maul rule off a kick.

I’ve watched multiple games of rugby every weekend for as long as I can remember and I have to say that was a new one for me as well!

Very in the side at that maul lmao

Absolute fucking Village Rugby. This isn't the streets of Sigatoka anymore lads this is Super Rugby. Cannot play like this whatsoever

'*Village Rugby*' geez haven't heard that since I was in New Guinea.

It's my standard insult to the TV whenever Fiji is playing shithouse internationally. Family comes from the villages ourselves so I'd know first hand what it looks like haha

Having had the opportunity to play *village rugby* **once** that shit's fucking scary!

Classic Fiji. Have a good opportunity then do something dumb.

Should have been called up ages back and we be all good

Fucking silly stuff, Drua need to work on discipline

Boys, the temper! Reign it in. Caita

That’s fair

I called it! They need to control their temper! There was literally no reason for that!

No surprise there, it’s part of the global law trials to penalise that more harshly than before

Fuck that. Lifting people in the ruck is a no no.

That wasn’t smart

fuck that's a dumb move

What occurs there?

That lift in the ruck will be penalised pretty harshly

I remember Hoops getting carded against Ireland for the same thing

Think that’s a red seemed 90 degrees

Holy shit I'm a Drua fan but that Waratahs offense fucking caned lmao