Wilson the wizard wins it at the death – Well holy snapping duck poo, what a finish! Just when you thought the Wallabies were gonna bungle another one, up steps the skipper Harry Wilson — spinning, driving and bashing his way over the line like a man possessed to seal a heart-stopping 21–18 win over a fired-up Fijian outfit in Newcastle. This wasn’t a polished win. It wasn’t pretty. But it was pure Wallaby heart, complete with chaos, controversy and the kind of cardiac moments that make us all wonder why we keep doing this to ourselves.
The Wallabies started this one looking hungrier than a tradie at a servo pie warmer. They dominated early with Harry Potter nearly bagging a meat pie off a cross-field kick, but the bloke must’ve left his Hogwarts hands at home. Still, the signs were good. Set-piece was humming, the rolling maul was cooking and they were camped in Fijian territory like it was a long weekend at Byron.
Dave Porecki opened the scoring from the back of the bus, aka the rolling maul, after Gleeson was held up. Moments later, Potter thought he’d gone over, only for the TMO to harshly rule Wright’s final ball had gone forward. No worries, we thought. The Wallabies were on top and when Len Ikitau and Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii linked like a couple of old mates at the pub, Fraser McReight dived over and suddenly we were 14–zip up and cruising like it was 2001 again.
But just as every Wallabies fan started to relax (rookie mistake), it all turned to custard. One dumb kick just before oranges (yes, Lolo, I am looking at you – like fark me that was stupid), gave the Fijians a sniff and Salesi Rayasi did what Fijians do best — sliced us open with ease. 14–5 at the break, and suddenly the momentum had changed faster than a politician’s promise.
Second half? Chaos. Max Jorgensen looked to have scored only for the dreaded forward pass to ruin it, again. Enter the Fijian flair factory: Caleb Muntz chipped in a penalty, then Jiuta Wainiqolo decided he was playing Sevens beating five defenders from inside his own 22 before throwing an offload out the back that would make Sonny Bill blush. Lekima Tagitagivalu finished it in the corner, and boom — we were behind. Things went from “uh-oh” to “bloody hell” real quick. Noah Lolesio got absolutely rag-dolled in a nasty collision and left the field seeing more stars than an outback night sky. Fiji slotted another penalty to stretch it to a 4-point lead, and suddenly the Wallabies were staring down the barrel.
But to their credit, they didn’t fold like a cheap camping chair. They held firm in defence, won a few critical turnovers, and got themselves deep into Fijian territory as the clock wound down. Then, with the game on the line, up steps Captain Harry. Spinning like a cyclone and bashing through the defence like a wrecking ball in boots, he slammed it down and gave the Wallabies the lead with less than two minutes on the clock. Cue crowd eruptions, beer showers, and national sighs of relief. The Wallabies live to fight another day.
Three things we learned
- Harry Wilson bleeds gold – If there were any questions about whether Wilson should be wearing the armband, they were buried under the weight of that match-winning carry. Clutch, composed, and completely committed, Captain Harry is here to stay.
- We need to sort the basic errors – Three tries disallowed due to forward passes or dodgy lineouts? Mate, that’s leaving 15+ points on the paddock. Against better sides, that’ll cost us every time. Skills and execution need to sharpen up.
- Fiji are no longer underdogs — they’re legit threats. This isn’t just flair and fancy footwork anymore. Fiji is structured, brutal at the breakdown and has the strike power to score from anywhere. They’re a serious side, and nearly embarrassed us on home soil.
Well, I don’t know about you, G&GRs, but I reckon I aged about 10 years watching that. I’m glad the Wobs toughed it out and got the win. But bugger me with a fish fork, that was winning ugly. But still winning.
