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Drua take care of Brumbies, Reds hold out Rebels for first Super Rugby Women's win

Rugby

Super Rugby Women's has passed the halfway mark of the regular season with every result dictating a finals appearance.

Read on for all the Round 4 results.

Waratahs, Fijian Drua storm to Super Women's wins

The NSW Waratahs and the Fijian Drua have continued on their Super Rugby Women's collision course, with both posting comfortable wins on Saturday.

The Drua further built their title defence by grinding out a 20-7 win against the ACT Brumbies, while the Waratahs' attacking firepower proved too much for the Western Force in a 45-21 drubbing.

NSW end the round on top of the ladder with their perfect 4-0 record, but the Drua are a game back in second, with the duo clearly the teams to beat for the title.

Winning for a second straight week, the two-time reigning champions Drua looked clunky in attack early but clicked into gear to win well at GIO Stadium.

A game-breaking run and offload from Drua centre Merewai Cumu early in the second half put winger Atelaite Buna through to score and set them on course for the win.

Fullback Luisa Tisolo had knocked over a penalty goal on 35 minutes to give the Drua a 10-7 lead, although keeping the damage to three points felt like a win for the Brumbies after a lengthy stint defending in their own 22m.

Drua flanker Sulita Waisega opened the scoring after gathering a deft kick and powering away, with a 7-0 advantage the least the visitors deserved from a strong opening 15 minutes.

But just as the Fijian forwards looked to be taking over after forcing a series of penalties, the Brumbies' rolling maul hit back in impressive fashion, with hooker Tania Naden driven over to knot the scores at 7-7.

The Brumbies remain fourth on the table, and with a five-point advantage on the Reds appear close to being locked in for finals.

At McGillivray Oval, the Western Force took three first-half penalty goals to cut a 12-0 deficit back to 12-9, before being blown away by the powerful Waratahs.

NSW No.8 Leilani Nathan and hooker Brittany Merlo each nabbed doubles, while speedy winger Maya Stewart scored one try and created another for Layne Morgan in a stylish second half.

Michaela Leonard nabbed a consolation try for the Force when NSW player Ruby Anderson was sin-binned for repeated infringements, and winger Renae Nona grabbed another when Atasi Lafai was also sent for the same crime.

The dynamic Waratahs are scoring more than 47 points per game on average this season.

Reds hold out Rebels for first Super W win

Teenage sensation Shalom Sauaso has helped lift the Queensland Reds off the bottom of the Super W ladder, the visitors holding off the Melbourne Rebels to clinch a thrilling 17-15 victory.

The 16-year-old Ipswich High School student scored two first-half tries and saved two more as the Reds booked their first win in four rounds and the Rebels were denied their second-ever victory in cruel fashion.

Friday night's win at AAMI Park allowed Queensland to leapfrog Melbourne, who were also winless but ahead in fifth spot thanks to a bonus point.

Reds skipper Cecilia Smith said her immediate feeling post match was relief.

"Definitely as that was a really tough battle out there, they came out firing and we knew they were going to want it as much as us," Smith told Stan Sport.

She praised Sauaso's contribution during her 60 minutes on the field.

"She is amazing - all we wanted was for her to run those hard lines and she did with those two tries and she was outstanding, she was the best for us."

Rebels skipper Ash Marsters was gutted by the loss after coming so close.

"We didn't have a great start and came out of the sheds firing but it wasn't good enough so it's another a tough pill to swallow," she said.

Queensland dominated the first 40 minutes to lead 14-0 before the home side fired up in the second stanza.

Melbourne five-eighth Cassie Siataga had the chance to put her team ahead with seven minutes left on the clock but her penalty kick went to the right of the upright.

Sauaso, who has a contract to play NRLW with Brisbane next year, opened the scoring in the seventh minute when she charged on to the ball off the back of a maul and burst through six Rebels defenders to touch down.

With the Reds taking advantage of the hosts' poor discipline and some costly errors, they had 90 per cent of territory and 72 per cent of possession and their dominance was rewarded when Sauaso came up with her second inside 20 minutes.

A schoolgirl sevens star, Sauaso showed off her defensive skills when she stopped what looked a certain try to winger Chanelle Kohika-Skipper.

The Reds centre pulled off a repeat early in the second half with a cover tackle on Kohika-Skipper, again preventing a five-pointer.

Melbourne started to find their groove and were first on the scoreboard in the second half, hooker Jayme Nuku touching down under the posts after a pick and go.

The Rebels forwards continued to cause some headaches and flanker Mel Kawa made it a two-point game when she scrambled over.

Starting as five-eighth, versatile Wallaroo Lori Cramer was able to push the Reds' lead to 17-12 through a penalty before Siataga returned the favour.

The Rebels had all the running as the clock wound down but Smith forced a crucial turnover as her team held on for the vital win.

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