‘I would trade that for a win’: Mataele’s hat-trick not enough as Drua fall to the Reds in Brisbane

Manasa Mataele produced one of his best performances in Drua colours on Friday night but the flying winger was left disappointed after the Queensland Reds powered past the Fijian Drua 45-24 in Brisbane.

The former Taranaki sevens star crossed for a hat-trick in an entertaining Super Rugby Pacific clash at Suncorp Stadium, helping the Drua fight their way to a shock second-half lead before the Reds pulled away late to secure their finals spot.

Despite the loss, Mataele said he was proud of the effort but would have preferred the win.

“Yeah, it’s pretty special to get a hat-trick but I would trade that for a win any time of the day,” he told Stan Sport after the match.

“I’m just trying to put my best foot forward for the team and do what’s best for the team.”

The Drua entered the match already out of finals contention but they played with freedom early and stunned the home crowd when Mataele intercepted a Carter Gordon pass and sprinted 60 metres for the opening try in the 12th minute.

Queensland hit back through hooker Matt Faessler before tries to Filipo Daugunu and Josh Flook gave the hosts a 21-12 halftime lead.

But the Drua came roaring back after the break.

Mataele grabbed his second try in the 44th minute before completing his hat-trick moments later after chasing down a clever cross-field kick to give the visitors a 24-21 lead.

Watch Manasa Matele score one of his tries against the Reds below.

For a brief period, the Drua looked capable of finishing their season with a major upset.

Instead, the Reds’ forward pack took control. Harry Wilson crashed over from close range before Faessler added his second try from a rolling maul.

Seru Uru and Richie Asiata also crossed as Queensland ran in four unanswered tries in the final half hour.

Reds captain Tate McDermott admitted the Drua once again tested his side with their unpredictable style.

“It’s always a great contest against the Drua,” McDermott told Stan Sport. “They’re so unpredictable. They’ll go 80 metres in the blink of an eye.”

McDermott praised his side’s defence but admitted there were patches where the Reds lost control of the game.

The Fijian Drua take on the Reds defence during Friday night’s Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Queensland Reds at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Photo/Facebook/Fijian Drua

“We were a little bit scrappy in patches. But if you look at a lot of their tries, they did some pretty freaky stuff to get them,” McDermott said.

As the Drua season came to an end, Mataele also thanked supporters in Brisbane and back home in Fiji for standing by the team through a difficult campaign.

“Thank you to everyone that supported us through the season,” he said. “I know it’s been ups and downs but thank you to the fans that are here. But also thank you to the fans back home.

“Thank you for sticking with us through thick and thin and we’ll try and do our best next year.”

The defeat also marked the end of coach Glen Jackson’s time with the Drua after a challenging season that saw the side struggle for consistency away from home.

Queensland will now turn their attention to the finals after securing another important win in front of their home fans.

Earlier in Christchurch, Fijian winger Sevu Reece celebrated his 100th match for the Crusaders in style, scoring two tries and even slotting a conversion in a dominant 47-14 win over top-of-the-table Hurricanes.

Reece crossed for the opener before adding another late in the match to take his Crusaders try tally to 73 and extend his record as the club’s all-time leading tryscorer.

The Crusaders ran in seven tries to keep their hopes of a home qualifying final alive, with captain David Havili producing one of the moments of the night after slicing through from inside his own half to help set up Noah Hotham.

The Hurricanes, who rested several key players with finals already secured, struggled to contain the Crusaders’ attack as the home side stayed unbeaten at One NZ Stadium in Christchurch.

Pool play wraps up on Saturday with Moana Pasifika travelling to Canberra to face the Brumbies, the Chiefs hosting the Blues in Hamilton, and the Waratahs taking on the Western Force in Perth.

For more details on Super Rugby Pacific, click here.