Fiji look to soften up Wallabies before Lions series

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 Schmidt's Wallabies.

Fiji's Australian coach Mick Byrne has brought a strong squad for Sunday's 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 Australia's 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 after the World Cup, will want concrete gains in his second season in charge ahead of the inaugural Nations Championship next year, which Fiji are expected to be a part of.

While dominating Japan and other Pacific rivals, Fiji's sole win against the top tier sides last season was a 24-19 win against struggling Wales in Cardiff.

Fiji's thrilling running game has otherwise been no match for the big dogs' forward power and set-piece discipline.

Not that Fiji will ditch their natural style, said Byrne.

"We need to grow our game. We need