[Source: Fijian Drua/Facebook]

McDonald’s Fijian Drua Women’s coach Mike Legge says his side must quickly learn from their opening-round defeat to the NSW Waratahs, with little time to recover in the short Super W competition.

The Drua began their campaign with a 42-29 loss to the defending champions in Sydney over the weekend, a result Legge believes was heavily influenced by his team’s slow start and inability to match the Waratahs physically in key areas.

“We got owned at the collision. We definitely started late. It took us 34 minutes to even get into the game. I’m not too sure what the reason is, but we’ve got to fix it because it’s a short competition. We’ve got to make sure that we nail everything from the get-go.”

The Drua struggled to impose themselves early and only began finding their rhythm deep into the first half, something the coach says cannot happen again when they host the Western Force this weekend.

Legge believes the opening 20 minutes proved costly as the Waratahs took control and forced the visitors to play catch-up for much of the contest.

With only a handful of regular-season matches available, the Drua know every result carries significant weight in the race for a finals spot.

Despite the disappointment, Legge found positives in the performances of the club’s debutants, with 9 of the 10 new players earning valuable game time against one of the competition’s strongest sides.

He singled out youngster Varanisese Qoro for praise after an encouraging display, particularly in open play.

“I thought the debutantes went well. All 10 players got an opportunity, and I thought Qoro was pretty good, especially in broken play.”

However, the coach stressed that the responsibility for the defeat rests with the entire squad rather than individuals.

“It’s a team thing. We’ve all got to take this loss on the chin, get home, regroup, review and start preparing for the Force.”

The Drua Women will now shift their focus to their first home match of the season, knowing a much-improved performance will be needed to keep their Super W campaign on track.

They meet this Saturday at 2pm at Churchill Park in Lautoka, you can watch the LIVE action on FBC Sports.