Last minute try sinks Queensland Reds despite JTA heroics, Drua keep alive faint finals hopes
The Queensland Reds remain winless in Fiji after conceding a try in the final minute to lose to the Drua 36-33 in Suva.
Despite replacement hooker Max Craig scoring on debut to give the Reds a late lead, the visitors struggled to play at the right end of the field in the dying stages of the match and paid the price.
While Seru Uru made one turnover to help relieve the pressure, the outstanding loose-forward was called on again after the Reds lost a crucial lineout and then were forced to defend their own line after a linebreak.
With Fraser McReight sent to the sin bin for hands in the ruck, Uru looked to have saved the day with another turnover. But the flanker lost control of the pill on a hot and humid day in Suva as he ripped the ball up.
Seconds later the Drua were over as Isikeli Rabitu powered over to score. Game, set, and match.
“Obviously a bit disappointed at the end, but I thought the boys did really well to get ourselves back into the game,” said Reds captain Tate McDermott.
“The Drua played a physical game and we missed too many tackles. Obviously disappointed, but we got the bonus point. We’re not happy with that, but it’s better than nothing.”
The Reds were forced to make 184 tackles to the Drua’s 108.
The extra workload took its toll in defence, with the Drua winning the battle up front. It also saw the Reds miss 20 tackles to 12.
It was no surprise that McDermott pointed to the collision area as where they game was won and lost.
“Probably just physically,” he said.
“We let them score too easily, too many times. Against a team like the Drua, if you give them that much time and space to do whatever they want with the ball and they’re going to make you pay.”
Mesake Vocevoce scored a crucial try for the Drua in their late win over the Queensland Reds on May 03, 2025, in Suva. (Photo by Pita Simpson/Getty Images)
Really it was only replacement prop Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen who kept the Reds in it.
The veteran prop came off the bench and made an immediate impact. He shored up the scrum, scored a try, won two turnovers and was the only tight-five forward who clearly won the contact zone.
Elsewhere, Uru had his moments, hooker Richie Asiata continued his tryscoring form and McReight took a step in the right direction but still looked a step behind where he’s been in previous years.
The Reds’ backline rarely had time and space, with Tim Ryan particularly struggling in defence as the Drua exploited his defensive frailties in the outside channels.
The win was a crucial one for the Drua, with the bottom-placed side keeping their faint finals hopes alive by moving to 15 points – seven points behind the sixth-placed Blues.
But with two home games to come, including against the Blues and Western Force, they could be the competition’s big movers.
“It feels good (to win),” said tight-head prop and captain Mesake Doge, who scored an early try for the home side.
“It’s been a while since we got a win here in Suva. I would like to thank the fans, thank you for coming out today. This team is yours, not only ours.
“It’s been a hard week for us as a club and these boys have fought hard this week. You can see in the last ten seconds of that game, these boys came our firing and they showed the spirit of this nation.”
The losing bonus point ensured the Reds would remain in fourth spot regardless of other results this weekend, but the chasing pack, including the Hurricanes and Blues, will now be sniffing a chance to climb up the standings.
“We’ll take our lessons,” McDermott said.” It’s not all doom and gloom. We’ve got an important game next week against the Waratahs and then against the Brumbies, but we’ll take it one week at a time.”