The undermanned ACT Brumbies have suffered their first-ever loss to the Fijian Drua, beaten 42-27 in their second-straight Super Rugby Pacific defeat.
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Coach Stephen Larkham made 10 changes to his squad that copped the heartbreaking, last-gasp 34-31 loss to the Queensland Reds because of player management protocols and injuries.
His heavily-rotated team not only had to battle the lively Drua, fresh from a bye and in front of a raucous home crowd, but also the wet, sultry conditions engulfing sold-out Four R Stadium at Ba in Fiji on Saturday.
After a back-and-forth first half the home side had a 20-12 lead at the main break and the Drua put more pressure on the visitors to create a 20-point deficit with less than 30 minutes remaining.
Although the Brumbies found three five-pointers, the Drua held strong to dash the Canberrans' hopes of retaking top spot on the ladder.
"They got into a bit of Fijian rugby, and we weren't clinical enough to close out opportunities," Brumbies fullback Andy Muirhead told FBC Sports.
"We've got to have a goldfish memory about this one, review it quickly, and move on."
It was the Drua's second win against a top-two opponent this season, having beaten the ladder-leading Hurricanes 25-20 on February 28 at home, and it came in their first-ever match in Ba.
"We came down on Tuesday and we spoke about a historic moment here in Ba and that we had to perform," Drua co-captain Frank Lomani said.
"It was so energetic. We could feel them (the crowd). They were with us on the field."
The Brumbies can take some satisfaction from the performance of 21-year-old back-rower Toby Macpherson, who scored a double in his first start, while Wallabies star Rob Valetini was typically busy (44 metres, 17 tackles) in his 100th Super Rugby game.
Hudson Creighton crossed first after Kye Oates slipped through the Drua's defence before handing it to Klayton Thorn, who grubbered it to the diving Brumbies centre.
Blindside flanker Etonia Waqa responded with a try before teammate Mesake Doge was handed a yellow card and Macpherson crashed over in the 25th minute.
The Drua scored the next three tries through Elia Canakaivata, Sairusi Ravudi and Ilaisa Droasese.
But, Macpherson scored his second when he found himself on top of a loose ball before Ryan Lonergan and Creighton linked up to cut the deficit to 10 points.
Although Muirhead found a five-pointer in the 80th minute, it came as a consolation after Droasese crossed in the 70th minute.
Australian Associated Press
