Ben Donaldson kicks off as one of the top performers last night at full-back for the Tahs, especially when he played an huge role of their resurgence in the 2nd half with so much damage being done along the way. Not only he can finish when he helped the Tahs level Fijian Drua sometime after the half-time break, but also finish off the game between the sticks that he normally does with these kicking duties at No.10. And love how he made that cross kick towards Mark Nawaqanitawase on the far right short side before Mark easily got the job done with plenty of room v the Drua defense. Having gained some Wallabies experience, he’s here to learn more who can do so well in both positions while maximising his natural game.
There’s another Tahs player who plays in a similar to Donaldson at No.10 and has also made a huge impact for the majority in none other than Tane Edmed. His kicking game between the sticks has been excellent as always. Then he began to unpack some abilities at No.10 other than kicking including a TRY for himself where he won that cat & mouse game v the 1-2 Drua defenders, as well as a TRY assist after he found Max Jorgensen with a quick offload on his far left short side. It was great to see this dynamic duo of him & Ben work together where competition makes them & NSW a whole lot better.
And Joseva Tamani rounds off as the best Drua player of the match on the blindside (flanker role). Gotta say that his physicality has caused the Tahs so much pain every time Drua attacks going forward, particularly when he’s got such a tall build that helped him respond to the Tahs’ opening TRY with one of his own during the first-half. The numbers were there when Tamani needed to get over the line including that driving maul where he made the Tahs sweat while Tevita Ikanvere hid the ball, before Tevita put Drua out in front again at one point ahead of Tahs all thanks to Tamani’s destructive work. Sadly, a poor defense has let him & the Drua down where the Tahs’ resurgent 2nd half run was simply too much for them in the end.
