Australia has survived an almighty scare from Fiji, turning a half-time deficit into a 39-21 win in their first Rugby World Cup match on Saturday.
The Wallabies had a stalling start to the game, trailing 14-12 at the break, but an energised Will Genia and a powerful set piece ultimately changed the game for Australia in a 27-point second half.
Australia’s victory puts them on track for a quarter-final berth, setting up a likely shootout for top spot against Wales in Tokyo next weekend.
For 62 minutes of the game, though, it didn’t look like the Wallabies would be heading to the Japanese capital still on the right path.
Fiji sprinted out to an 8-0 lead after just eight minutes, steamrolling Australian defenders and stopping Australian attackers along the way with their sheer size and pace.
Josua Tuisova and Semi Radradra bounded over Reece Hodge and blocked the Wallabies’ path when the ball was out of their hands.
Tries to Michael Hooper and Hodge, both generated from set piece, brought the margin back to two points at half-time before the Fijians went on another run to lead by nine
The injection of Genia midway through the second half and a double for hooker Tolu Latu, both from rolling mauls, eased the pressure and allowed Aussies all over the world to release their collective breaths.
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Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said he expected that Fiji would come out of the blocks firing but always backed his side to claw their way back.
"Happy to win, no doubt about that," he said.
"That’s the way games go, it’s the world cup, we played Fiji in the first game 2015, the score wasn’t the same but the momentum of the game was pretty similar.
"We just needed to gather ourselves and get back to basics.
"Also I think we were prepared for a strong contest all the way through, knowing that we’d try and get ourselves ahead in the last 20 minutes. We know the Fijians and we know how good they are."
With no injuries, the Wallabies' biggest concern could be the fate of Reece Hodge after a no-arms tackle that led to the exit of Fiji flanker Peceli Yato.
The referees took no action at the time but Fiji has indicated they will refer the moment to the citing commissioner, which they can do in the next 36 hours.
Fiji put early pressure on the Wallabies, earning a fifth-minute penalty that was duly slotted by Ben Volavola.
Just three minutes later, a Nic White box kick was swallowed up by Semi Radradra and the Fijians mounted a powerful attack.
Bashing his way through the Australian defence, Fijian flanker Peceli Yato finished off that attacking charge with the first try of the match and already troubling signs began to show for the Wallabies.
It took until the 18th minute for the Wallabies to score, through Michael Hooper, finishing off a dominant scrum to score under the posts.
Fiji’s scrum literally fell apart from an Australian feed and once Hooper had the ball, he used all of his strength to barge his way over the line.
An Isi Naisarani infringement gave Volavola the chance to stretch the lead to four points and the former Waratah slotted it.
An Izack Rodda high tackle opened up the door for Volavola to slot yet another penalty for Fiji, keeping the score ticking along.
The Wallabies had a chance to narrow the gap and opted to kick to the corner, hoping to replicate the success of their previous short-range attack.
Their maul didn’t immediately generate the result that their scrum push had but the Wallabies found a right-hand side overlap and Hodge went over, getting one back on his counterparts.
Australia went into the half-time looking as if they were building their way back into the game, but it didn’t take long for them to
A Samu Kerevi pass to Christian Lealiifano completely missed its target and bounced right into the hands of Waisea Nayacalevu and no one could catch the speeding centre on a 40-metre run to the line.
Hodge took over the kicking duties for a relatively straightforward penalty attempt, narrowing the margin back to just six points with half an hour.
Will Genia replaced Nic White in the 51st minute and he made an immediate impact with a long-range box kick putting the Wallabies right in their attacking zone.
Genia brought on some much-needed spark and the wallabies began to look more dangerous with every minute he was on.
Fiji were under penalty pressure as the Wallabies continued to attack and Tolu Latu produced what felt like an inevitable score.
Hodge missed the conversion, though, leaving Australia just one point behind with 22 minutes left in the game.
Frustration began to get the better of the Fijians, with a warning turning into a yellow card in the 61st minute, and all of a sudden Latu was over again and the Wallabies were well and truly in control.
Kerevi added some emotional icing to the cake with a 69th minute try, giving them the biggest lead of the match and by the time Marika Koroibete dotted one down in the 73rd minute, any nerves of Aussies watching were well and truly forgotten.
Fiji tried desperately to clinch a final score, and a possible losing bonus point, but eventually their efforts ran dry.
Australia’s goal kicking worries were not exactly eased in the match, though, with patchy returns from Lealiifano, Hodge and To'omua.
The Wallabies travel to Tokyo on Sunday ahead of next weekend’s massive clash against Wales while Fiji face Uruguay in their second match.
RESULT
Wallabies 39
Tries: Latu 2, Hooper, Hodge, Kerevi, Koroibete
Cons: Lealiifano, To’omua
Pens: Hodge
Fiji 21
Tries: Yato, Nayacalevu
Cons: Volavola
Pens: Volavola 3
Yellow Card: Botia (61’)
