Fiji look to soften up Wallabies before Lions series

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FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool C - Australia v Fiji - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - September 17, 2023 Fijis Albert Tuisue celebrates at the end of the match REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

MELBOURNE - All but forgotten in the hype of a British and Irish Lions tour, Fiji have gathered in a rain-soaked corner of eastern Australia to plot a confidence-killing defeat of Joe Schmidts Wallabies.

Fijis Australian coach Mick Byrne has brought a strong squad for Sundays test in Newcastle, the hosts last warmup before the Lions series-opener on July 19.

The stakes are high for the Wallabies, who lost seven out of 13 tests last season and can ill-afford to stumble against opponents that stunned them at the 2023 World Cup.

However, the season-opener is also important for the Pacific Islanders, who insist they now rank among the elite Tier One nations that once ignored them between World Cups.

Times have changed.

Since humbling the Wallabies 22-15 in Saint-Etienne at the World Cup in France, a defeat ranked among Australias darkest days in rugby, Fiji have had no shortage of top tier competition.

Scotland, Wales and Ireland all hosted them last autumn, while New Zealand played them in the United States.

Fiji will face Scotland at home a week after taking on the Wallabies, with glamour matches to come in November against England, at Twickenham, and France.

Byrne, who took over from Simon Raiwalui