Fijian Drua centre Kalaveti Ravouvou showed his class as he set up a try in his team’s 38-28 win over the Melbourne Rebels in their Super Rugby Pacific clash in Suva on Saturday.
With the score 26-7 in their favour, the home side launched an attack midway between the halfway line and the Rebels’ 22 in the 30th minute, with Kitione Salawa taking the ball into contact.
He managed to get a pass out to the on-rushing Ravouvou, who showed great determination and leg drive as he powered through three tackles before offloading back to Salawa, and he dotted down in the left-hand corner.
Teti Tela slotted the difficult conversion, which meant the Drua had their tails up as they held a comfortable 33-7 lead at half-time.
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Earlier, the hosts made a fantastic start as they raced into a 19-0 lead midway through the opening half, after Ilaisa Droasese, Selestino Ravutaumada, and Vilive Miramira scored tries, with Tela adding two conversions.
The visitors struck back with an Alex Mafi try, which Reece Hodge converted, but the Drua regained the initiative when Iosefo Masi also crossed the whitewash, and Tela added the extras.
The Rebels came out firing after the interval and were rewarded two minutes after the restart when Andrew Kellaway, who had just come on as a replacement to make his first Super Rugby Pacific appearance of the season, crossed for their second try.
The next 15 minutes was categorised by several unforced errors from both sides, but the Drua extended their lead in the 58th minute when Elia Canakaivata went over for their sixth try.
That was the last time the hosts would score points, and although the Rebels finished stronger with further five-pointers from Carter Gordon and Pone Fa’amausili, which were both converted by Hodge, the Drua were deserved winners as they dominated for long periods.
Video credit: Stan Sport
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