Following a golden point victory, the Fijian Drua coach makes fun of Waratah’s rival.
With only one victory over the Crusaders to show for the Sydneysiders’ efforts this season, the Waratahs were relegated to 10th position in the competition rankings following the Druas’ second victory of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign.
The game was exciting, with a tie score at halftime that led to a golden point stretch of play. Tane Edmed, the Waratahs’ first five-eighth, missed a drop goal that would have sealed the victory, but super sub Kemu Valetini scored on his own effort to steal the victory, eliciting thunderous cheers from the Fijian supporters.
After the victory, Byrne appeared in front of the cameras wearing a Chicago Bulls cap—an odd decision that was spurred by Waratahs coach Darren Coleman two years before.
Coleman made an effort to lower expectations after the Waratahs defeated the Drua 40-10 to start the 2022 season, the Drua’s first in Super Rugby. It may have been interpreted as a not-so-subtle jab at the Fijian squad.
Coleman made a statement that must have resonated with Byrne and the Drua: “It wasn’t like we beat the Chicago Bulls.”
In Lautoka 2024, Byrne and the Drua have developed into a fiercely competitive team, particularly when they are playing at home.
In the end, the outcome didn’t convince him; he had like things to have been simpler. I wonder whether he thought, “Oh dear, this might not get used today,” as the hat sat there.