Beauty and brutality: The Wales v Fiji rivalry in six unforgettable matches

2023 Rugby World Cup: Wales 32-26 Fiji

If 2007 was the biggest result, this may have been the greatest game.

For long periods in Bordeaux, Wales were hanging on.

By the final whistle they had completed an astonishing 248 tackles – the most ever recorded by any nation in a men’s Test match.

Even that was almost not enough.

With Wales clinging to a six-point lead, Semi Radradra had one final opportunity. Had the last pass stuck, Fiji looked destined to score.

Instead, Wales somehow survived.

They topped the pool and reached the quarter-finals, but Fiji quickly proved their performance had been no one-off.

A week later, they beat Australia before pushing England deep into the quarter-final, eventually losing only after England pulled away in the closing stages.

It was the tournament that confirmed Fiji were no longer simply dangerous outsiders. They were a genuine force.