Tell it to the three Fijian players, down on their haunches and inconsolable after giving up a late and decisive try to the Wallabies in Sunday’s enthralling Test. Tell it to the passionate Fiji coach Mick Byrne, who was still bristling an hour after the full-time whistle at refereeing decisions he believed cost his team a historic victory.
Tell it to the 28,132 fans, who set a new crowd record for a rugby union match in Newcastle, offering a spirited atmosphere on a glorious winter’s afternoon in the Hunter. Tell it to the wider Pacific rugby community, who once again watched the Australians meet their match against a Fijian team that had bettered them at the 2023 World Cup, and came within a try of upsetting a heavily-fancied England side in the quarter-finals. Who sit just one place below the Wallabies in the world rankings.
