Wallabies survive Fiji flair for comeback victory

The Wallabies have shown they have a mountain to climb to match the British and Irish Lions after clawing their way to an ugly 21-18 victory over Fiji in Newcastle.

Losing their last Test against the Pacific Islanders, ending a 69-year win streak, the Australians narrowly avoided more unwanted history as Fiji looked to go back-to-back for the first time.

There were shades of Saint Etienne, where the Wallabies suffered their World Cup humiliation, when Australia fell behind in the 55th minute but they managed to scramble for the much-needed win.

Skipper Harry Wilson managed to get the ball down over his head with just over a minute remaining to secure a heart-stopping win.

But it came at a cost with flyhalf Noah Lolesio stretchered from the field in the 60th minute after his head slammed into the turf as he was tackled.

The Wallabies’ bumbling performance overshadowed the Lions’ own struggles ahead of the July 19 series opener in Brisbane after the tourists battled to see off an undermanned Waratahs outfit in Sydney on Saturday night.

Despite perfect conditions in front of a 28,000-strong crowd for the day match at McDonald Jones Stadium and with the prime ministers of both countries in the stands, Australia failed to mount any real pressure in the first half with too many turnovers and some aimless kicking.

The hosts led 14-5 at halftime with Dave Porecki opening the scoring in the eighth minute through a Wallabies maul.

The hooker was playing his first Test in 652 days, sidelined in 2024 due to an achilles injury, but Porecki only last 26 minutes before being forced off due to a head knock.

The Wallabies had to wait until the 36th minute when the finally strung some attack together to send Fraser McReight across the line.

But they then let a 14-point lead slip when Lolesio ignored sending the ball dead for halftime and instead put a dinky kick through that Fiji pounced on.

They worked the ball to Salesi Rayasi, with the debutant fullback beating three Australian defenders to put his team on the scoreboard.

Australia looked to play with more width in the second half with winger Max Jorgensen crossing in the 48th minute, but the try was disallowed due to a forward pass from fullback Tom Wright in the build-up.

Fellow winger Harry Potter also had a first half try denied due to Wright forward pass.

Momentum then swung the Fijians way as they embraced their traditional sevens style of play, putting the Wallabies on the back foot.

After a Caleb Muntz penalty they hit the lead when winger Jiuta Wainiqolo made a jinking run downfield before off-loading for flanker Lekima Tagitagivalu to score.

Muntz added the extras for a 15-14 lead.

They looked to have added another minutes later but the try was denied with Australia’s Potter going into the touch before the ball was turned over.

Another Muntz penalty in the 67th minute left Australia needing a try to snatch back the lead, with Wilson finding his way through the Fiji defence to secure the win.