Undoubtedly, Australia’s opener to this World Cup was going to be iconic, especially when facing a side like Fiji who, known for their pace and precision, were hungry for more points after Friday’s loss to England.
Australia Begin World Cup With a Win
Volavola kicked off for Fiji and Australia used quick hands down the line and were taken into touch. A Fijian lineout gave them their first run with ball but were penalised, giving Folau a great break for Australia in their 22. Five minutes in and Nayacalevu was escorted off the pitch with what looked like a nasty knee injury, with Tikoirotumo replacing the winger.
A solid scrum a few minutes later showed the power and strength of both sides, with Australia using the ball fast down the line, only for Rob Horne to let the ball slip through his hands on recieving a pass towards the left. Referee Glen Jackson took the ball back to the penalty (tackling player off the ball) and Australia went for the posts. 3-0 up and the two teams look evenly matched.
With 17 minutes on the board, a break out of fisticuffs prompted Jackson to claim “we’ll have none of that here, thanks”. Players warned, an incredible rolling maul from Fiji gave the crowd fine voice for the Islanders. The Fijians looked to score from a lineout, but when taken into touch, an offside penalty against Australia gave Nadolo his first chance to kick at the posts to make it three points a piece.
Wallaby number eight David Pocock scored the first try of the game, a forceful cross over the line from an intense maul two metres out whilst Fiji had a lapse in concentration. Foley with a perfect conversion made it 10-3.
Moments later, a yellow card to Ma’afu for kicking the ball away from an offside position when available was punished immediately – a tumble over the line by Pocock gave him his second try of the game. Foley missed the conversion, keeping the score at 15-3 and Fiji seemed panicked by being a man down.
An Australian penalty kick made it 18-3 just before half time and an interception by Bernard Foley gave the men in green and gold more hope. However a Fiji lineout on the ten metre line was followed by a kick into touch for the end of the 40 minutes and both sides returned to the changing rooms looking rusty.
Australia came out like rockets for the second half, scoring try number three by jersey number three, Sekope Kepu. Foley was successful with the conversion 25-3 and Fiji (back up to 15 men) were left bewildered by the try scoring prop. Nevertheless, discipline errors by the Wallabies gave Nadolo opportunity to dissect the posts and take it to 25-6.
Two new props for Australia gave them fresh legs as they looked for the bonus point, Slipper and Holmes taking to the battlefield whilst bodies went down on both sides in this increasingly physical game. As the game became more physical, so did the intensity within the stadium, the crowd booming with every exciting phase. An attempted sidestep by Lovobalavu failed as he succumbed to a crunching tackle by two of the defensive Wallabies, but in part gave supporters a flavour of Fiji’s flair. This was followed minutes later as a phase of relentless attack saw fly-half Ben Volavola scramble under the posts for Fiji’s first try and a conversion by powerhouse Nadolo took it to 25-13 with three-quarters of the game gone.
Nigel Owens (assistant referee) highlighted that the Fijian backs were “laughing” at injured Wallaby Slipper as he lay out on the pitch from a clash of heads, leading to Jackson warning them again for bad behaviour. Genia was replaced by Tatafu Polota-Nau as he left the pitch for concussion checks as Fiji captain Qera was left with a flea in his ear.
The crowd jeered Foley as he kicked a further three points for Australia, proving that the majority of those inside the Millennium backed the Islanders. Soon after the scoreboard ticked over to read 28-13, the Wallabies this time found themselves down to 14 men as Kuridrani was sin binned for not rolling away on his tackle on Nadolo. Fiji looked to capitalise on this advantage, using speedster Verniki Goneva plenty to run the ball further into Australia’s 22.
As time ticked down, two-time try scorer Pocock was announced as Man of the Match as Fiji looked desperate to close the points gap. Despite this, scrappy handling saw them fail to progress any further and as the ball went into touch, the full time whistle went. Full time score 28-15.
Fiji will know that they have to tighten their discipline as penalties sealed the deal comfortably for Australia, who boast a massive 122 tackles in this match. Fiji will return to the Millennium Stadium to face Wales next week as Australia’s second match will see them face underdogs Uruguay on 27th September before going head to head with hosts England in a couple of weeks time. They will be hoping this slim miss at a bonus point doesn’t come back to haunt them as Pool A continues to develop throughout this World Cup.
