It is shaping up to become a tougher battle than the others they have waged against each other in three years.

That is the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika Super Rugby Pacific clash scheduled for Saturday in Lautoka.

Both camps have stated they want to win.

And both believe it will be the toughest battle yet involving the two teams.

Fijian Drua head coach Mick Byrne told the media the result of this weekend’s clash will play a big part on how the teams finish the 2024 season, with six rounds of matches remaining.

He wants the Drua to win their remaining matches, with a focus on their overseas assignments.

“The bye weeks have gone now and the season sort of levelled itself off and we’ve found ourselves still in the eight,” Bryne said.

“What it means is that every game we play now is important. You know, we’re in the eight and we’ve got to keep winning.

“As you say, three away and three at home. Now is a good time to start winning our away games.”

Drua currently sits seventh on the points table while Moana Pasifika is eighth.

Byrne said they will have to also work on not presenting Moana any bonus point on Saturday.

“That makes this game very, very important,” he said.

There is no hiding the fact that Moana Pasifika has grown in physicality upfront, where they have challenged opposition scrums.

“[I am] very impressed with the way they have come about this year,” the Drua coach said.

“They are a physical pack and they like to push scrums back. We have been trying to work on that as we did against the Hurricanes last week.

“The challenge for our forwards is to back that up this week.”

Moana focused

Moana Pasifika’s Tom Coventry told media in Albany on Tuesday they understand the importance of the game.

He said the battle for top eight finish has intensified and both teams will be keen to confirm their spots.

“Both teams are on the same amount of points and the only difference between the two teams is the points differential. So, both teams will be gunning for the win,” he said.

“It can help us in our goal to try and achieve making the top eight if we can get ourselves four points, and a bonus point victory, will be beautiful.

“But both teams are going to be after the same thing.”

Coventry said the game will be tough, especially when Drua lost last weekend’s game against the Hurricanes at home.

“I thought they played well against the Hurricanes, who are the in-form team in the competition,” he said.

“They certainly didn’t disgrace themselves in my opinion. They’re a tough team. They’re very innovative. They come up with new players regularly.”

He said Lautoka has become the team’s fortress.

“They’ve proven they’ve been really hard to beat. Last year they were unbeaten at home,” Coventry said.

“Obviously, they’ve got two venues, one in Lautoka and one in Suva.

“Out of the two, I think that Lautoka is the one they really have made a graveyard for teams. We are going to try our best to make sure we are not one of the casualties.”

Moana Pasifika are coming out of a week’s break, after defeating the Reds in Whangarei to record their third win this season.

They had also defeated the Drua in Melbourne in Round 2.

But Coventry rates the Fijian side as the favourites.

“They have obviously an advantage playing in Lautoka in the middle of the day, in front of the crowd. It’ll be noisy, it’ll be hot and the ball will be slippery.

“It’s a big challenge for us. It’ll be a good match.”

Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika game kicks off at Churchill Park in Lautoka at 2.05pm (Fiji Time) on Saturday.

-RNZ