Fijian Drua, Reds book Super Rugby quarter-final berths

Drua scored six tries in a rampant 41-17 win in Suva over the Queensland Reds, who despite losing remain alive after Western Force crashed 43-19 in their must-win match against the table-topping Waikato Chiefs in Perth.

That defeat meant the Reds finished eighth and now travel to Hamilton next week for an ominous meeting with the Chiefs, who have won all but one game this year.

Roared on by a passionate crowd, Drua produced the most commanding of their six wins this season, lifting them from 10th to seventh in the standings.

Their victory eliminated the Otago Highlanders, who started the weekend in contention but suffered a major blow with defeat to the Auckland Blues on Friday evening.

The Crusaders finished the regular season ranked second despite crashing 27-26 to the Wellington Hurricanes, who stayed fifth and will meet the fourth-placed ACT Brumbies in a Canberra quarter-final.

It was a fifth home win in six matches for Drua, who were introduced to the newly named Super Rugby Pacific last year, alongside Moana Pasifika who include players with Samoan and Tongan heritage.

The two newcomers held the bottom two places in 2022 and while Moana continued to struggle this season, Drua have unleashed an exciting brand of attacking rugby.

Some players were in tears after the full-time whistle and their effort was praised by captain Meli Derenalagi.

"You can see how happy we are right now," he said. "Hats off to the soldiers behind me for carrying out their duty today.

"Thanks for the crowd coming out in numbers. They've supported us throughout the season, that's why we played our hearts out today."

The Reds led 17-12 late in the first half thanks to tries to forwards Ryan Smith and Fraser McReight but did not score again.

'Bad on all