Wales and Australia played out a thriller at Tokyo Stadium on Sunday night.

Reigning Six Nations champions Wales were made to work hard for the 29-25 win after the Wallabies clawed back from trailing 23-8 at half-time. The result has a significant bearing on Pool D, with Wales now probably one win away from topping Pool D.

Although there is still a chance, the Fiji Airways Flying Fijians’ hopes of reaching the next round took a massive hit with the Wales victory. The Fijians were rooting for an Australian victory, which would have marginally improved their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.

The goal still remains to beat Georgia and Wales in the final two games.

And the only other consolation is to secure a third spot in Pool D and an automatic qualification to the 2023 RWC.

However, barring any upset the Michael Cheika’s Wallabies play Uruguay and Georgia next, two games they are expected to win with some degree of comfort. Fiji currently have two points and sit at the bottom of the pool with Australia on second-place with six.

The John McKee-coached side play Georgia on Thursday and need a bonus point win to stand any chance of qualifying. It’s Wales next on October 9, where a bonus point win might again be a necessity given the circumstances. But all of that will be undone if Australia simply get two wins in their upcoming matches.

Fiji’s 27-30 defeat in an underwhelming, error-strewn performance against Uruguay could prove fatal in the end.

Edited by Naisa Koroi

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