The Wallabies came back from a second-half deficit to beat a fired-up Fiji.
How did the Wallabies players rate?
Scott Sio 7
Helped re-establish Australian control with a dominant scrum and carried strongly throughout the game.
Tolu Latu 8
Continued a strong run of form and was a deserved man of the match. Carried well and used good footwork, kept the Aussie lineout (mostly) functioning and of course scored two tries as the rolling maul tailgunner.
Allan Alaalatoa 7
Partnered with Sio and Latu to overpower the Fijian scrum and open up the neccesary fault line in the Pacific Islanders’ game.
Izack Rodda 7
Contributed to aforementioned scrum power, worked efficiently in the maul and lineout, and was the Wallabies’ equal highest tackler.
Rory Arnold 7
Another whose set-up work helped the rolling maul started steamrollering like, funnily enough, a Brumbies one. Consistently good carrying in contact, too.
David Pocock 7
Didn’t feature as far as turnovers go, and in fact was penalised twice when he had a crack. Defended stoutly and also carried effectively, too.
Michael Hooper 8
The Michael Hooper Doubters Society will probably have a quiet day on the socials after a typically stout performance. Scored the first try by hauling a few men over and had the most carries (16) for all the Australian players.
Isi Naisarani 7
Another who can be trusted for a solid shift. Arguably the most trusted ball carrier in the side. When the Fijian hits were coming in hard, Naisarani rode the contact and kept his feet, thus retaining possession.
Nic White 6
A rusty game for the pugnacious no.9, and that makes some sense given he hasn’t played for over a month. Tried to pop out and run but with was scragged around the ruck several times.
Christian Lealiifano 5
Fiji clearly had a plan to physically attack Lealiifano and they rarely missed. The no.10 was on the end of some massive shots, and his fluency suffered. The Wallabies played too laterally early and it was panicked.
Marika Koroibete 8
Koroibete continued a purple patch of form with a massive performance. He ran for 158 metres off 17 runs, and scored a sizzling try down the left wing. Arguably the best Wallaby this winter.
Samu Kerevi 7
Did his usual cart horse impression by bashing through defenders in the first half, and he finished with 10 defenders beaten and a try for his trouble. Solid shift,
James O’Connor 7
It’s the little subtleties in James O’Connor’s game that are so impressive. His ability to square up defenders in the outside channels, his capacity to recognise the need too drop into fly-half when Lealiifano was down, his footwork in traffic. All were on display in Sapporo.
Reece Hodge 5
Finished a try well but Hodge’s day was all about torrid defence. He was bumped off twice, by both wingers, but managed a try saver on Peceli Yato. It was high enough to be contentious post-game. He’ll have a nervous 36-hour wait.
Kurtley Beale 5
Not one of Beale’s trademark performances of sizzle. Contributed to the Wallabies playing into Fiji’s hands early by playing laterally, and with rushed passes. Steadied like everyone else in the second but didn’t see much ball thereafter.
Jordan Uelese 6
Carried strongly when he came on and kept the lineout and scrum powering too.
James Slipper 5
Helped power up a scrum soon after he came on and kept up the set-piece pressure on the Fijians.
Sekope Kepu 5
Basically, see Slipper. The reserve props did their job well.
Adam Coleman 5
A nice clean lineout catch led to Koroibete’s try in the second half, and helped keep the ship steady when he came on.
Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 6
Took a couple of very strong carries that will give Michael Cheika food for thought next week. A genuine power athlete.
Will Genia 8
It was a sloppy old game that screamed out for the old master to come in and resolve. And Genia did just that. Took superb control of the Wallabies’ game, with passing options and several pin-point kicks.
Matt Toomua 5
Strong tackling when he was injected in the game and valuable points from the kicking tee, too.
Dane Haylett-Petty 6
Name checked by his coach post-game and fair enough. Took a nice contested kick-off and also came close to scoring late.
