ACT Brumbies far too strong for Fijian Drua

Although the blood streaming from Nick Frost's head when the Brumbies lock came off showed it was a good physical test.

The Brumbies were too strong for Fijian Drua, winning 42-3 at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.

It was the first time the teams have met since Drua's introduction into Super Rugby Pacific this season and Brumbies coach Dan McKellar was pleased with his team's defensive efforts.

They kept Fijian Drua tryless, while also running seven themselves.

McKellar was also pleased to get plenty of minutes into his bench with most of them getting an extended run, including Chris Feauai-Sautia for his first Super Rugby game since 2020.

"Not to concede any tries is always pleasing and our goal-line and D-zone defence is something we've spoken about improving," McKellar said.

"The pleasing part is there was growth. It was better than last week. It's round two. It certainly wasn't perfect and we know we've got to be better next week against an improved NSW team."

The Brumbies' lineout had a shaky start - their first one pinged for not being in straight - but it did improve from there and they opened their try account through their trademark rolling maul.

Lachlan Lonergan went from scoring last week's match winner to this week's opener.

Running rugby might be what the Fijians are known for, but the Brumbies aren't half bad at it either.

They probably got the better of the contest in that regard, with Brumbies fullback Tom Banks producing a brilliant run from just inside his own half to score almost untouched.

Somehow, Fijian winger Vinaya Habosi went unpunished - aside from a penalty that was never awarded due to the try - for a dangerous lift on Andy Muirhead after he passed the ball to Banks.

Muirhead did a full flip from the tackle, but the officials bizarrely decided Muirhead was responsible for flipping himself.

While the maul might be one of the Brumbies' trademarks, their game has evolved beyond that as the Banks break showed.

But they can also produce some lovely attacking phases as well.

Brumbies lock Darcy Swain produced an offload near the Fijian line that eventually led to Wallaby outside centre Len Ikitau crashing over.

The Brumbies' scrum was targeted by the Fijians, but winger Tom Wright scored off the back of one.

Almost every time you watch Rob Valetini you see something special, showcasing his left boot with a big roost down field and also crashing over from close range to show his trademark power.

Back from his French connection, Jesse Mogg scored two tries in the dying minutes to finish it off.

Next week the Brumbies will find out if the talk about an improved NSW Waratahs outfit is justified when they meet at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

Brumbies captain Allan Ala'alatoa expected a tough contest - especially amongst the forwards - and they had genuinely turned things around after going winless last year.

"Just watching you can tell they've got something good happening there in Sydney," he said.

"It looks like they're happy with their culture. They're buying in. It's going to be a hell of a game next Saturday."

SUPER RUGBY PACIFIC ROUND TWO

ACT BRUMBIES 42 (Jesse Mogg 2, Lachlan Lonergan, Tom Banks, Len Ikitau, Tom Wright, Rob Valetini tries; Noah Lolesio 2 convs, pen) bt FIJIAN DRUA 3 (Baden Kerr pen) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Reuben Keane.