Fijian Drua to test injury-hit Crusaders with physical game, says coach Byrne

The Crusaders enter the playoffs with a slew of All Blacks among nine players ruled out for the rest of the campaign.

They were beaten 27-26 by the Hurricanes in Wellington last weekend but return to their Christchurch fortress in their push for a seventh championship trophy in seven years.

After hammering the Queensland Reds 41-17 to reach the finals for the first time in only their second season, Byrne said his buoyant Drua players had been "flying into each other" at training.

"We don’t have to manufacture physicality," he told Reuters from Fiji on Wednesday.

"We’re not dismissing anything the Crusaders bring tactically or technically, we just feel the best way that we can go into this game is playing our best rugby.

"If we do that we’ll be competitive and we’ll be physical.

"That’s what it’s going to take to beat the Crusaders in Christchurch, you’ve got to be physical. That's our clear focus this week."

There were joyous scenes in Suva as the Drua thrashed the Reds for their sixth win of the season, four more than their maiden campaign in 2022.

It came after a tough week for the coach, who was mourning the death of his father.

Drua captain Meli Derenalagi dedicated the win to Byrne, who was a champion Australian Rules footballer in the 1970s and '80s before becoming one of the world's most sought-after skills coaches in rugby.

Byrne was moved by the condolences from his players, a couple of whom had mourned the loss of their own parents during the season.

"I was very fortunate to have a long time with my dad. Some guys this year have lost their parents and they're only young men," he said.

"The way they were towards me before the game was very touching."

Having been skills coach through the All Blacks' back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2011 and 2015, and held similar roles with Scotland and Australia, the Drua job is Byrne's first as a head coach of a professional rugby team.

The chance to develop a side from scratch was appealing, and he has worked hard to convert raw talent into durable professionals capable of lasting the full 80 minutes against established outfits from Australia and New Zealand.

Skill levels were initially wanting, said Byrne, rattling off a long list of deficiencies in passing, kicking and set-pieces.

Players could rely on their talent alone to dominate in domestic competition but Super Rugby requires elite skill to break down defences. Coaching the Drua has meant reining in players' natural instincts to keep the ball moving at all times.

Byrne said his players were in the gym every day working on passing, catching and kicking.

"It's working for them. Our skills are improving to catch up with the competition," he said.

Building belief has been the next ingredient, and the Drua earned plenty of that when they upset the Crusaders 25-24 for the first time at home in Lautoka in March.

They will take that into Saturday's clash against the Crusaders at Rugby League Park in Christchurch, arguably the toughest venue for visiting teams.

"Beating the Crusaders showed us that we can do this," said Byrne.

"We got them on a warm day in Lautoka. The venue will be different, the weather will be different but our basic instincts around how we want to play will be the same."