[Photo: FIJIAN DRUA/ FACEBOOK]

McDonald’s Fijian Drua Women’s coach Mike Legge believes there is still room for improvement despite his side’s 50-17 victory over the Queensland Reds, warning that the team cannot afford to ease off heading into the Super Rugby Women’s semi-finals.

The dominant win at Ballymore Stadium secured the Drua a home semi-final, but Legge said there were valuable lessons to take from a performance that was impressive for long periods but not without its flaws.

“We took the foot off the throat a couple of times and let them score a few soft tries, but overall I’m bloody ecstatic.”

The Drua were clinical from the outset, producing one of their strongest starts of the season after placing a major focus on improving their opening exchanges and sustaining pressure over the past three weeks.

“We’ve been working quite a lot over the last two to three weeks on our starts and then continuing to build pressure and keep the pressure on. I thought we did that today.”

Defensively, the visitors laid the platform for the convincing win, repeatedly shutting down the Reds with aggressive line speed, dominant tackles and disciplined defensive organisation.

“That’s something we’ve worked really hard on. The girls defended really well today. Our line speed, tackle technique and physicality were really good. We still let in a few soft tries, but overall they were immense.”

Legge also paid tribute to the strong contingent of Fijian supporters who turned Ballymore into a sea of blue over the weekend, saying the team was delighted to reward them with a performance worthy of a semi-final berth.

“Our Fijian community really came out in numbers today, and we’re really happy about that. We’re happy we put on a show for them, and now we’re going to the semis.”

With a home semi-final now awaiting, the Drua will look to eliminate the defensive lapses while carrying the confidence and momentum of one of their most commanding performances of the season.

The Drua are on a bye this week before their home semifinals on the 18th of next month.