Melbourne Rebels Super W Co-Captain Sharlene Fagalilo believes the side can defeat the Brumbies at Seiffert Oval on Sunday if they improve on the deficiencies they showed in their opening game of the season.
Fagalilo, who part-led the team for the first time against Queensland Women last week, says the Rebels feel confident going into a match against a side they played against in their final trial match before the 2019 season.
The forward believes the team can defeat the Brumbies, who also did not register a point in their loss to the Waratahs last weekend, if they can deliver on the fundamentals of their game.
“This game will be really good. It’ll pick up the girls a lot if we come out with the win,” Fagalilo said.
“We did have a trial game against them and we played well against them, but we didn’t come away with the win.”
“Coming up against them in a competitive game this weekend should be really good. We know we can beat them, it’s just about performing that well on the day.”
Fagalilo believes the team has learned greatly after receiving a rugby master class in Round 1 from the Queensland Women.
The 27-year-old says the side was no match for an experienced Queensland outfit, however, the Rebels have worked hard on sticking to their game plan to ensure they become more competitive against the Brumbies.
“They were just quite an experienced team,” Fagalilo said.
“A few of them have played Club rugby together and played rugby way longer than anyone in our team has played together.”
“We just needed to take that on the chin and we’ve worked hard at training this week to improve on the things we didn’t do right.”
The former Wellington hockey representative will look to continue her strong form into her second Super W season.
A member of the Rebels inaugural Super W team, Fagalilo says her main focus for Sunday’s match will be to continue being aggressive defensively, while also being strong in attack.
“I love attacking the ball and stealing the ball off the opposition,” she said.
“Every time I go into the game, I always make it my intent to get the first hit on someone, so that will be my intention again this week.”
Rebels fans can catch the Women’s game live on Kayo Sports from 3pm on Sunday.
