An extraordinary match that so nearly produced a denouement to die for. Fiji, fitter than they have ever been, stretched Wales to the very end, only for Semi Radradra to spill a bouncing ball with the line at his mercy, the clock in the red. What a comeback it would have been, Fiji down by 18 points with 14 to go. And popular. How popular.
In the end, Wales’s nous, so used to an old-world status in rugby terms well above that of Fiji, saw them through. They have suffered their own trials of late, finding themselves three places below the Islanders in the world rankings, but their four tries left Fiji with just too much to make up. After England’s riposte to the doubters, this bonus-point win was a further fillip for Britain’s ailing powers.
