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Fiji survive Georgia scare to all but condemn Wallabies to pool stage exit


Waisea Nayacalevu of Fiji scores his team's first try during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Fiji and Georgia at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux on September 30, 2023 in Bordeaux, France. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
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Fiji fought back to beat Georgia 17-12 in Bordeaux and move closer to a World Cup quarter-final place.

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But Fiji’s failure to claim a bonus point keeps Australia’s slim hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.

The South Sea Islanders will claim a quarter-final spot – probably against England – by beating Portugal next weekend.

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Georgia’s opportunism and brilliant defence gave them a surprise nine-point lead at the break.

Luka Matkava opened the scoring, with the boot of Davit Niniashvili adding six points from long range.

It was the first time Fiji had gone into the interval scoreless in a Test in six years.

Defence

108
Tackles Made
196
28
Tackles Missed
17
79%
Tackle Completion %
92%

Fiji finally got on the scoreboard six minutes into the second half as skipper Waisea Nayacalevu produced a brilliant finish under pressure to sneak over in the corner.

Frank Lomani added a difficult conversion and, strengthened by the return of Semi Radradra from the sin bin, Fiji piled on the pressure.

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Lomani’s penalty gave them the lead for the first time with 15 minutes remaining.

Three minutes later Levani Botia charged through a gap and found Vinaya Habosi, who sprinted over unopposed.

Attack

188
Passes
134
149
Ball Carries
105
371m
Post Contact Metres
267m
6
Line Breaks
7

Lomani landed the conversion but there was more drama in the final minute as Josua Tuisova was sent to the sin bin for making head contact on Miriani Modebadze.

Matkava kicked his second penalty and Fiji survived from the final play of the game when Niniashvili broke down the left and kicked ahead, only for Ilaisa Droasese, behind his line, to hack the ball to safety.

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TL 1 hour ago
Joe Schmidt bows out on a high - but can the Wallabies escape 'the twilight zone'?

It’s hard to see how any coach could have done much better and that coaches can only shift the dial so much in Australia, we’ve had some of the best in the world and the trajectory has been the same. The win/loss record is obviously an important metric, but it is only one metric, and not necessarily the best to assess a team that is really still in a building phase (2024 was recovery!). You could look at something like average losing margin, and the trajectory there is much better, with the 2025/2026 results close to half the losing margin in 2024 and during Eddie’s reign (roughly 10, compared to closer to 20). Much has been made of the so called merry-go-round at 10 (really sick of that phrase but here I am using it), but losing Noah, Lygnah and Dono between Fiji and SA games in 2025, and Carter then Dono in 2026 had nothing to do with Joe. He consistently backed his first choices and backed youth at 10 when he could. The injuries led to a massive increase in uncertainty around whether to risk players who weren’t ready or back experience but lose the future benefit. In that situation I think we need to permit our coaches a greater degree of experimentation and error. Much has been made of the LSL situation, but what about how Joe’s selections at lock have led to some real depth of capability there, with players that weren’t as conspicuously impressive (e.g. Williams, Canham). Joe has made his mistakes, but he righted the trend that was heading sharply down, and I suspect that as with what he left in Ireland and as with Stuart Lancaster your old mate, the true test of his time will be what happens in the wake.

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