Highlanders

Party in Suva? Highlanders coach Tony Brown will bring up a significant milestone when his side plays the Fijian Drua in Fiji today. It will be his 100th game ...

"I love the balance he brings as a coach. He played 91 games for the franchise from 1996 to 2011. "I’ve very much been a product of that and it gives me opportunities to be awesome, and that’s the sort of the language we use. "Every year it gets harder and harder to attack, and every year new things come up in rugby and the game, and that’s the challenge, and that’s what I love,"Brown said. It has been a tough season for the Highlanders. The team has had its share of success up front and in the set pieces, and that will be where the Highlanders look to attack the Fijian Drua today. "To me, it is trying to get us playing the rugby that we want to play and getting the results that we deserve," he responded when asked about the occasion.

The Highlanders hung on in the dying minutes as the Drua narrowly failed to inflict a historic defeat in front of a vocal Suva crowd.

The Highlanders have survived an almighty scare from the Fijian Drua, fighting back from a 21-10 deficit to score a 27-24 victory in Suva.

Marshall’s try was the only five-pointer of the second 40, with the Highlanders staying composed in the face of some relentless Drua attack as they hunted a match-winner. “We knew the Highlanders were going to come at us and I’m proud of the effort of the boys, trying to stay competitive and playing 80 minute rugby,” he said. An early Highlanders penalty in the second half proved crucial in preventing a Fijian fairytale.

Frank Lomani, Kaliveti Ravouvou and Vinaya Habosi scored three tries for the Drua in the first spell. The Highlanders managed two tries in the first 40 minutes.

On Sunday against the Fijian Drua in Suva, they did more than hang with their hosts, coming back from an 11-point deficit to claim a 27-24 win for just their ...

Trailing 21-17 at the break, the Highlanders kicked things up a notch in the second half. It was a near mirror image of their first break that saw the Drua hit the lead again, as a short side play got Habosi in space with no one in front of him. In high temperatures and humidity, the Highlanders fell off a few tackles early, and the hosts took advantage.

On Sunday against the Fijian Drua in Suva, they did more than hang with their hosts, coming back from an 11-point deficit to claim a 27-24 win for just their ...

Trailing 21-17 at the break, the Highlanders kicked things up a notch in the second half. It was a near mirror image of their first break that saw the Drua hit the lead again, as a short side play got Habosi in space with no one in front of him. It forced the Highlanders defence to make a decision, and freed up left wing Vinaya Habosi to stretch his legs down the touch line.

The Highlanders have claimed a 27-24 win in Suva, beating Fijian Drua in their first Super Rugby Pacific match played at home in Fiji.

"We knew the Highlanders were going to come at us and I'm proud of the effort of the boys, trying to stay competitive and playing 80 minute rugby," he said. An early Highlanders penalty in the second half proved crucial in preventing a Fijian fairytale. "We knew the Fijians were going to be very dangerous as they're a team who can score out of nothing and they got a couple of early ones but we stuck to our plan."

The Highlanders have cruelly denied Fijian Drua a historic win in their first Super Rugby Pacific match played at home, with a full house at Suva's ANZ Stadium unable to lift their team to victory. The visitors rebounded from last week's Super Round ...

The Highlanders have cruelly denied Fijian Drua a historic win in their first Super Rugby Pacific match played at home, with a full house at Suva's ANZ Stadium unable to lift their team to victory. The visitors rebounded from last week's Super Round ...

The Highlanders have kept their playoff hopes alive with a comeback win over a fired-up Fijian Drua side in...

With their scrum unable to budge the much-improved set-piece, the Highlanders looked bereft of attacking ideas, and even the in-form Thomas Umaga-Jensen had a forgettable game in the midfield. In warm and humid conditions, some of the Highlanders' big men also struggled with the pace of the game, and No.8 Mikaele-Tu'u was left to fight a lone battle with some typically strong carries. They trailed for an hour of the game in Suva as the Drua capitalised on their errors, and it took a maul try from replacement hooker Rhys Marshall to secure a gruelling 27-24 win.

The Fijian Drua hosts came close to a memorable win in the inaugural Super Rugby Pacific game in Suva. At ANZ Stadium, Suva: Highlanders 27 (Sam Gilbert try ...

The Highlanders travel to Brisbane to face the Reds on Friday, and there can be no doubts about their character. Like elite athletes at their peak, our sports journalists are highly trained in the art of news. 8.5/10. There was a real sense of occasion on Saturday, as Fiji’s long wait to watch their own players perform in Super Rugby in front of friends and family finally ended. So we're asking you to support us with more than your attention. No wonder talks have already begun to extend his contract. However, credit must go to the Drua who again displayed their huge physicality, and the Highlanders will be delighted to get a win in a venue where others will struggle in the coming years.