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History of rugby union matches between Australia and Fiji

Australia and Fiji have played each other twenty-three times, of which Australia has won the most with nineteen, including three at the Rugby World Cup's (RWC) of 2007, 2015 and 2019. Fiji won two of the first four matches between the two teams (between 1952 and 1954), however, did not beat Australia again until 2023 (69 years and 83 days later), at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.[1][2]

Their first meeting was in 1952, and Australia won 15–9. Australia is also Fiji's most-played Tier-One opponent, slightly ahead of Japan, who was given Tier-One status by World Rugby (WR) in 2020.[3]

Summary

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Overall

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Details Played Won by
Australia 		Won by
Fiji 		Drawn Australia points Fiji points
In Australia 16 13 2 1 469 192
In Fiji 3 3 0 0 59 31
Neutral venue 4 3 1 0 137 68
Overall 23 19 3 1 665 291

Records

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Note: Date shown in brackets indicates when the record was last set.

Record Australia Fiji
Longest winning streak 15 (19 September 1972 – 21 September 2019) 1 (9 August 1952 – 5 June 1954;
26 June 1954 – 10 June 1961;
17 September 2023 – present)
Largest points for
Home 66 (18 September 1998) 19 (19 September 1972)
Away 55 (23 September 2007) 28 (10 August 1985)
Largest winning margin
Home 49 (9 June 2007) —
Away 43 (23 September 2007) 7 (17 September 2023)

Results

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No. Date Venue Score Winner Competition Attendance Ref.
1 26 July 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 15–9   Australia 1952 Fiji tour of Australia 13,457 [4]
2 9 August 1952 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 15–17   Fiji 42,004 [5]
3 5 June 1954 Exhibition Ground, Brisbane 22–19   Australia 1954 Fiji tour of Australia 29,753 [6]
4 26 June 1954 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 16–18   Fiji 33,099 [7][8]
5 10 June 1961 Exhibition Ground, Brisbane 24–6   Australia 1961 Fiji tour of Australia 7,000 [9]
6 17 June 1961 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 20–14   Australia 20,868 [10]
7 1 July 1961 Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne 3–3 draw 7,500 [11]
8 19 September 1972 Buckhurst Park, Suva 19–21   Australia 1972 Australia tour of New Zealand and Fiji 13,000 [12]
9 12 June 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 22–6   Australia 1976 Fiji tour of Australia 14,299 [13]
10 19 June 1976 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 21–9   Australia 10,000 [14]
11 26 June 1976 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 27–17   Australia 7,800 [15]
12 24 May 1980 Buckhurst Park, Suva 9–22   Australia 1980 Australia tour of Fiji 20,000 [16]
13 9 June 1984 Buckhurst Park, Suva 3–16   Australia 1984 Australia tour of Fiji 20,000 [17]
14 10 August 1985 Ballymore Stadium, Brisbane 52–28   Australia 1985 Fiji tour of Australia 10,000 [18]
15 17 August 1985 Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney 31–9   Australia 12,987 [19]
16 18 September 1998 Parramatta Stadium, Sydney 66–20   Australia 1999 Rugby World Cup qualification 17,242 [20]
17 9 June 2007 Subiaco Oval, Perth 49–0   Australia 2007 Tri Nations Series warm-up match 20,108 [21]
18 23 September 2007 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier (France) 55–12   Australia 2007 Rugby World Cup 32,321 [22]
19 5 June 2010 Canberra Stadium, Canberra 49–3   Australia 2010 Tri Nations Series warm-up match 15,438 [23]
20 23 September 2015 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff (Wales) 28–13   Australia 2015 Rugby World Cup 67,253 [24]
21 10 June 2017 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne 37–14   Australia 2017 Summer International 13,583 [25]
22 21 September 2019 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo (Japan) 39–21   Australia 2019 Rugby World Cup 36,482 [26]
23 17 September 2023 Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne (France) 15–22   Fiji 2023 Rugby World Cup 41,294 [27][28]

List of series

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Played Won by
Australia 		Won by
Fiji 		Drawn
8 6 0 2
Year Australia Fiji Series winner
  1952 1 1 draw
  1954 1 1 draw
  1961 2 0[a]   Australia
   1972 1 0   Australia
  1976 3 0   Australia
  1980 1 0   Australia
  1984 1 0   Australia
  1985 2 0   Australia

Statistics

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Per location

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In Australia

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State/Territory Location Venue Won by
Australia 		Won by
Fiji 		Drawn
  New South Wales Sydney Sydney Cricket Ground 5 2 0
Parramatta Stadium 1 0 0
Total 6 2 —
  Queensland Brisbane Exhibition Ground 2 0 0
Ballymore Stadium 2 0 0
Total 4 0 —
  Victoria Melbourne Olympic Park Stadium 0 0 1
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 1 0 0
Total 1 0 1
  Western Australia Perth Subiaco Oval 1 0 0
Total 1 0 —
  Australian Capital Territory Canberra Canberra Stadium 1 0 0
Total 1 0 —
Overall total 13 2 1

In Fiji

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Province Location Venue Won by
Australia 		Won by
Fiji 		Drawn
Rewa Suva National Stadium 3 0 0
Total 3 0 —
Overall total 3 0 —

Neutral location

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Country Location Venue Won by
Australia 		Won by
Fiji 		Drawn
  France Montpellier Stade de la Mosson 1 0 0
Saint-Étienne Stade Geoffroy-Guichard 0 1 0
Total 1 1 —
  Wales Cardiff Millennium Stadium 1 0 0
Total 1 0 —
  Japan Sapporo Sapporo Dome 1 0 0
Total 1 0 —
Overall total 3 1 —

Notes

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  1. ^ Australia won two tests with one test being drawn; Australia were series winners 2–0.

References

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  1. ^ Pentony, Luke (18 September 2023). "Fiji defeat leaves Wallabies with their backs to the wall at Rugby World Cup in France". ABC News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ Rindl, Joe (17 September 2023). "Australia 15–22 Fiji: Flying Fijians beat the Wallabies for the first time at Rugby World Cup". BBC Sport. BBC. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ Taniguchi, Makoto (5 May 2020). "Japan's national rugby team to be certified Tier 1". Nikkei Asian Review. Nikkei, Inc. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Australia beats Fiji in Test with brilliant wet-weather display". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XIII, no. 36. New South Wales, Australia. 27 July 1952. p. 19. Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ Kann, E. W. (10 August 1952). "Fiji's Spectacular Test Win; £7,000 Tour Profit". The Sun. No. 2572. New South Wales, Australia. p. 26. Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Tresidder, Phil (6 June 1954). "Australia, Man Short, Beats Fiji In Test". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XV, no. 29. New South Wales, Australia. p. 35. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "FURIOUS FUSS, FLURRY AS FIJIANS FORCE FINAL TEST WIN". Truth. No. 3361. New South Wales, Australia. 27 June 1954. p. 31. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Fijian Union team snatches after-bell win in final Test against Aust". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XV, no. 32. New South Wales, Australia. 27 June 1954. p. 28. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ Baxter, Stan (11 June 1961). "Aust. thrash Fiji by six tries to nil". The Sydney Morning Herald. Brisbane, Queensland.
  10. ^ Baxter, Stan (18 June 1961). "Clearly Too Speedy For Fijians. Aust. Take Second R. U. Test 20 to 14". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  11. ^ "R. U. Test 3–3 Draw Ends In Brawl". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 1961.
  12. ^ "Australia Tour". ESPN.
  13. ^ Webster, Jim (13 June 1976). "Australia win test with low-key effort". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  14. ^ Webster, Jim (20 June 1976). "'New' Fijians Go Down Fighting". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  15. ^ "Fiji Tour – Australia v Fiji". ESPN.
  16. ^ "RUGBY UNION McLean's boot defeats Fiji". The Canberra Times. Vol. 54, no. 16, 313. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 25 May 1980. p. 19. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ "RUGBY UNION Strong win to Wallabies". The Canberra Times. Vol. 58, no. 17, 787. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 10 June 1984. p. 23. Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Battle for possession". The Canberra Times. Vol. 59, no. 18, 213. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 11 August 1985. p. 1 (Sport). Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "Wallaby shadows wrap up series with five-try win". The Canberra Times. Vol. 59, no. 18, 220. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 August 1985. p. 1 (Sport). Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ Growden, Greg (19 September 1998). "Australia romp to record, then start to count cost". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  21. ^ "Wallabies hammer Fiji". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 14 June 2007. Archived from the original on 29 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Rugby Union: Australia defeats Fiji 55–12 in World Cup group B". The New York Times. Montpellier, France: The New York Times Company. 23 September 2007. Archived from the original on 27 August 2023.
  23. ^ "Wallabies run riot against Fiji". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 11 June 2010. Archived from the original on 30 October 2016.
  24. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Australia 28–13 Fiji". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 September 2015. Archived from the original on 5 September 2016.
  25. ^ Decent, Tom (10 June 2017). "Israel Folau finds form as Wallabies get year on right track with 37–14 win over Fiji". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018.
  26. ^ Parkin, Richard (21 September 2019). "Australia 39–21 Fiji: Rugby World Cup 2019 – as it happened". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021.
  27. ^ "Australia vs Fiji – Rugby World Cup 2023". rugbyworldcup.com. World Rugby. 17 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  28. ^ Decent, Tom (18 September 2023). "Wallabies' World Cup campaign in crisis as Fiji beat Australia for first time since 1954". The Sydney Morning Herald. Saint-Étienne: Nine Entertainment. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
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