Schmidt frustrated and relieved after last-gasp win over Fiji

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FILE PHOTO: Rugby Union - Autumn Internationals - England v Australia - Allianz Stadium Twickenham, London, Britain - November 9, 2024 Australia head coach Joe Schmidt before the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers/File Photo

REUTERS

NEWCASTLE, Australia - Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt felt a mixture of relief and frustration after Australias last-gasp win over Fiji on Sunday, he said after their only match before the British amp; Irish Lions series.

Captain Harry Wilson scored the winning try in the 79th minute, but Schmidt felt the Wallabies should have put the match to bed during a dominant first half before Fiji stormed back in the second.

It was certainly a relief when Harry got over and dotted it down, thats for sure, Schmidt told reporters. (There was some) frustration to find ourselves in that situation after we built a nice lead early in the game.

I felt we got a bit loose, and theyve got some fantastic broken-field runners. But that was no surprise to us because we knew they had them and we knew wed have to be better connected than we were.

The Wallabies had two tries disallowed for forward passes that Schmidt conceded were execution errors, but the New Zealander also queried some of the officiating of set-pieces.

Schmidt said that the Wallabies will have to be more clinical against the Lions in the three-test series in late July and August.

Games are going to ebb and flow and when things are