Super Rugby Pacific

That was the Fijian Drua's biggest problem as they went down fighting, 27-24, in a close battle with the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Sunday.

While offloads did wonders for the Fijian side, it also turned out to punish the team when they went overboard with it at crucial moments, resulting in knock-ons and losing possession, especially in the team's red zones.

Another area the Drua were culpable was not being quick enough to support the ball carriers, ensuring that their opponents tacklers and ball hunters were bulldozed out of the way.

The ACT side eventually ran out 62-36 winner in Canberra on Saturday.

The match saw the lead change five times until the Brumbies, on the back of a strong lineout, took control of the game in the final quarter.

The Brumbies put on four late tries and Moana Pasifika ran out of steam in the final 20 minutes.

New flanker Miracle Fa'ailagi set the tone in in the second minute when he took an intercept and galloped 70 metres to score.

The Drua side dropped from fifth place after the close 24-27 loss to Reds yesterday.

They now have nine points from four matches, recording two wins and two losses.

Meanwhile, the Chiefs and the Brumbies maintain their unbeaten run.

Chiefs is at the top with 19 points, the Brumbies second with 17 and the Hurricanes with 14.

With 11 points is the Blues in fourth place while the Crusaders and Reds share 10 points each.

The Drua will face the Highlanders in their next game on Saturday at 3.35pm (Fiji Time) in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Rakuro was part of the Drua Academy earlier this week, before being named in the No. 23 jersey ahead of their season opener in New Zealand.

But the wingers debut couldn’t have gone any better.

In the dying stages of the game, Rakuro found himself in space – but dramatically slipped over mere metres from the try-line.

But it worked in his favour, as the covering defender slipped over. After getting to his feet, the debutant jotted the ball down for a memorable score with about three minutes to play – which can be seen above.

Despite being at the Crusaders fortress in Christchurch, the visitors have come-from-behind and then pulled away for a big 31-10 win over the defending champions in Friday night's opening match of the 2023 competition.

Trailing 10-7 going into the break, the Chiefs scored 24 unanswered points in the second half as they powered to a confidence boosting victory.

The Chiefs finished third in the regular season standings last season, before being beaten 20-7 by the Crusaders at the semifinal stage.

Coach Jason Holland confirmed young star Ruben Love and new signing Brett Cameron would both miss their trip to Australia for early matches against the Reds and Rebels after picking up injuries during the pre-season.

Love has been sidelined with an ongoing groin issue, which has limited his involvement during training, while Cameron suffered a grade two calf tear in their warm- up match against the Blues last weekend.

The Blues utility back was the only All Black for his team to run out against the Hurricanes last weekend in their first pre-season fixture of the year. It’s an opportunity that Tuivasa is appreciative of.

“I think making it through the first 40 minutes was the box I wanted to tick,” he says.

“It was good to get some fitness into my game and have some time to watch the clips after to see where I can grow from today.”

The 2018 Dally M medallist was in sparkling touch and continued to push his case for All Blacks selection, creating a try for Beauden Barrett on 48 minutes before slashing through for his own on 69 minutes.

Despite losing hooker Andrew Makalio to a red card for a no-arms tackle in the 22nd minute, the Highlanders managed to keep the Blues at bay for the first half an hour of the contest, taking a 6-0 lead through two Marty Banks penalties.

The Waikato side ran in five tries in Hamilton, leading 27-10 halftime, before pulling away late in the second half.

Weber and number eight Pita Gus Sowakula crossed in the final quarter to snuff out any chance of a comeback from the visitors.

Chiefs lock Brodie Retallick was happy with his side's outstanding peformance.

"That was just a great Chiefs' pack performance," Retallick said.

"We knew the Waratahs led the statistics around the ruck and the breakdown so we knew we had to be tough there."

"Whos got your back? I got your back!" The teams chants echo through Mt Smart stadium signalling the up-coming battle against the NSW Waratahs in round 12 of the DHL Super Rugby Pacific this afternoon.

 Chairman Sir La’auli Michael Jones says welcoming the first membership holders to Mt Smart Stadium is a milestone.

“The original members are here today who believe in this vision. Its been a long time coming.”