It’s odd how most Wallabies’ press conferences start or end with the mention of the British & Irish Lions, even though Australia are scheduled to play the Flying Fijians before that.
Is it a case of disrespect or simply a psychological ploy from Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt, before the Southern Hemisphere sides play each other in Newcastle on Sunday, July 6, 2025?
You see, World Rugby has gifted the Fijians tier-one status — whatever that means. That’s not the treatment any top-tier nation receives when it embarks on a Test campaign at home or on the road. It poses some serious questions on whether World Rugby is merely performing diplomatic duties or promoting Fiji to make the wounded Wallabies feel good about themselves.
Here’s the catch, people. The Aussies aren’t a tier-one outfit and definitely weren’t one under Eddie Jones during the 2023 Rugby World Cup (RWC). That shouldn’t take off the gloss from the Fijians’ don’t-argue 23-19 victory at Saint-Étienne, France, that had, somewhat unceremoniously, left the Australians on the seat of their pants in pool play. The Fijians had progressed to the quarterfinals.
So, are the Wallabies a tier-one country? They shouldn’t be. In which case, the Test hosts should be talking up their South Pacific Island neighbours with as much humility as one would expect of a tier-two team.
What can we make of the Lions? Hey, even before they had left their shores the cash register tills at Rugby Australia would have started ringing to the tune of Waltzing Matilda. That’s always a given when the composite national team leaves their shores, perhaps giving their rivals a chance to fasten their belts for an ego trip. One country taking on the might of four can do that to anyone, especially if they prevail.
Conversely, Los Pumas beat the Lions 28-24 for the first time in eight outings in the history of the two sides, albeit a warm-up match in Dublin on June 21.
But let’s be serious here. What is the Lions’ “Test” status? Should they even have one? The Argentines, after all, had the Lions purring like pussycats. On the flip side, Lions’ head coach, Andy Farrell, despite reportedly blowing his gasket, may have treated the match against the 2023 RWC semifinalists as a scrimmage to boost the ticket sales in a continent where rugby union isn’t a top-10 sport.
But that’s not where it ends. If the Wallabies beat the Fijians on Sunday next week, will they be back in top-tier rugger?
Not having to travel, the hosts have the luxury of selecting a match-day 23 against a “physical” Fijians while exposing their chosen players, via their Super Rugby Pacific (SRP) Aussie franchise sides, against the Lions.
Don’t forget, the Fijians had beaten the Wallabies two years ago for the first time since 1954 — the latter an 18-16 victory in Sydney that had been shrouded in controversy. Fights had broken out; the referee was warning both sides; and the 33,000 crowd at the SCG (humming for that era) was “hooting” (should that be “booing”) the islanders.
Just as Aussie fans can point a finger at Jones for the 2023 RWC, so did the 1954 journalists from both countries, playing the blame game of why the hosts had lost or the islanders prevailed.
But all that eclipses the fact that the Wallabies had not “invited” the Fijians for seven years, after that ill-tempered 1954 Test. Why didn’t Australia play Fiji again after the 2023 RWC defeat in the following two years?
Wallabies pivot Ben Donaldson, among the 10 survivors of the 2023 RWC squad, wants nothing more than to move on from that day.
LYON, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 24: Ben Donaldson of Australia makes a break during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between Wales and Australia at Parc Olympique on September 24, 2023 in Lyon, France. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
“It wasn’t a great day for us or Australian rugby, but that’s in the past now, and we just look forward,” Donaldson reportedly told the media scrum from his training camp this week.
Herein lies a great snapshot of how the Aussies feel, not just towards Fiji but island nations. Anything short of winning against them seems to be unthinkable.
For what it’s worth, the Fijians have 15 Northern Hemisphere-based players in their mix. The burning question is whether head coach Mick Byrne, an Australian, can concoct a winning formula against his countrymen. Fijian predecessor Simon Raiwalui did in France. No pressure, Byrne.
The harsh reality for Fiji is it has to earn its tier-one stripes by beating a top-four world ranking nation, rather than finding comfort in World Rugby’s generosity. Then, only then, will the islanders start winning the respect they deserve.
Dropping the ball in Newcastle will be a setback for not just Fiji but the other South Pacific Island nations.
Do that and they’ll forever be making up numbers in rugby union.
