Rugby-Fiji turned Wales loss into Australia win with fewer carries

Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Pool C - Australia v Fiji - Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Etienne, France - September 17, 2023 Fiji's Tevita Ikanivere, Ilaisa Droasese and Samuel Matavesi celebrate after the match REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

SAINT-ETIENNE (Reuters) - Fiji's stunning upset of Australia at the World Cup on Sunday was achieved despite the Pacific islanders carrying the ball half as often as they did in their dramatic opening loss to Wales.

The Fijians had only 88 carries but they were highly effective and they still boast the highest tally of dominant collisions (45) per game after beating a Wallabies side with second-worst tackle success ratio (77%) of the 20 teams.