Fijian Drua coach trolls Waratahs counterpart after golden point win

Fijian Drua coach Mick Byrne has been keeping receipts and had a tongue-in-cheek response after his side beat the Waratahs in Lautoka in round five.

The win was the Drua’s second of the 2024 Super Rugby Pacific campaign and condemned the Waratahs to 10th place on the competition table, with just one win over the Crusaders to show for the Sydneysiders’ efforts so far this season.

It was a dramatic encounter with the scores tied at full time resulting in a golden point passage of play. Waratahs first five-eighth Tane Edmed missed a drop goal for the win before super sub Kemu Valetini nailed an attempt of his own to steal the win, inspiring raucous applause from the Fijian faithful.

Following the win, Byrne fronted media sporting a Chicago Bulls cap, a curious choice but one that was sparked by Waratahs coach Darren Coleman two years prior.

Following the Waratahs’ 40-10 win over the Drua to open the 2022 season – the Drua’s first season in Super Rugby – Coleman attempted to temper expectations with what could be considered a not-so-delicately put dig at the Fijian team.

Coleman said “It wasn’t like we beat the Chicago Bulls”, a line that must have stuck with Byrne and the Drua.

Fast forward to Lautoka 2024 and Byrne and the Drua have grown to be a highly competitive outfit, especially when running out on home soil.

“We may not have played like the Chicago Bulls, and we may not have won like the Chicago Bulls, but we won,” Byrne told media following the win.

The moment was shared on the Drua’s social media and praised by pundits over the weekend.

“He’s not just wearing his heart on his sleeve, he’s holding a grudge! And you use that,” Former All Black Jeff Wilson reacted on The Breakdown.

“When you’re a coach you’ll find whatever works to get a little extra out of your team. The players who were involved would have remembered that. But that’s gold. That’s outstanding.

“(The result) wasn’t convincing in the end, he would’ve liked it to have been easier. I wonder if the hat was sitting there and he was going ‘Oh dear, this might not get used today’.”