It was a happy end to a high scoring contest for the home crowd at the HFC Stadium this weekend, with the Fijian Drua just squeaking home in the dying minutes of the match. The contest saw the Drua score six tries while the Queensland Reds scored five. Etonia Waqa was the standout forward for the local boys. He was always threatening with the ball in hand and made a couple of significant line-breaks. His defence was also strong – netting him the man of the match award.Taniela Rakuro was dangerous on the left wing. He is very quick and always hard to tackle. Stand-in Mesake Doge also had a great outing. The seasoned tight-head prop was powerful in the scrums and led with his vast experience. His hard work was rewarded when he scored the second try for the Drua.Mesake Vocevoce continued his good form. The lanky Fijian Drua second rower thrives in the lineout battles and carries the ball hard. Vocevoce sparked the Drua’s resurgence in the second half.Kemueli Valetini was good in the number 10 jersey. He rallied his men well, organised and maintained their shapes, and was tactical with his kicking boot. The Queensland Reds did not make it easy for the Drua, despite and the hot and sunny conditions. Each time the Reds forwards pack rumbled with the ‘pick-n-go’ they scored. The driving maul was also a weapon for them. Red’s flanker/second rower, Serupepeli Uru held himself well in the game despite playing against his fellow Fijians. Uru had his name on the score sheets when he scored the third try for his team. Two standout players from the Aussie boys were fly half Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and fullback Jock Campbell. They linked up well to create many opportunities for the Reds to stay in the game. The Reds continued to pile on the pressure and led 33 – 29 in the dying stages of the game. However, Drua substitute utility-back Isikeli Rabitu became the man of the hour after regathering a loose ball to crash over for the winning try in the 79th minute. Substitute number 8 Elia Canakaivata was key in support, helping to push Rabitu over the line. Another successful conversion by Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula and the final score was 36 – 33. Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson acknowledged his team’s efforts after the match: “The game could have gone either way. I think the boys played really well most of the game. They showed who we are in terms of our attack and defensively when we got up and stopped them, it was really good.”Mesake Doge added: “It was a hard battle and I’m just happy for the boys. We’re taking one game at a time. We worked on this one so we’ll now work on the next one. We need to work on everything. There are small niggles that we need to fix to get us better and ready for the Blues. They are not an easy team but we’re looking forward to the challenge.” The Fijian Drua will host the Auckland Blues in Suva next Friday. It will be a night game, with kick -off is scheduled at 7:05pm.