Australian legend Michael Lynagh described it as ‘’one of the greatest matches of all time’’. And in terms of pure entertainment, it was.

Fiji’s amazing 36-34 victory over Wales was more than a World Cup shock. It was possibly the last game Gareth Jenkins will oversee as Welsh coach. The land of the dragon does not take readily to losing – and you can be sure the game’s rulers in the Principality will be breathing fire at such an embarrassment.

Personally, as a red-blooded Welsh woman. I hope the likeable man from Llanelli stays in the post. Because for all the shame of losing to the unfancied Pacific islanders, Wales gave as good as they got and at times played some really exciting rugby.

'Give the Fijians an open field and they’ll fling the ball about with gay abandon like the Harlem Globetrotters – with devastating results'


That's more than one could say for the stodgy Scotland team that beat Italy 18-16 to join Fiji in the quarter-final without scoring a try.

Conversely, Wales scored five tries to Fiji’s four – contributed hugely to a great spectacle (even if they did get their tactics wrong) – and only lost because three goal kicks hit the post and James Hook missed a sitter of a penalty just before half-time.

To my mind Wales’s big mistake was abandoning the disciplines of European rugby and getting dragged into the loose play the Fijians love.

The islanders are not kings of the Sevens game for nothing. Give them an open field and they’ll fling the ball about with gay abandon like the Harlem Globetrotters – with devastating results.

Wales let them loose much too often and it proved their downfall. That magnificent handling, coupled with Wales’s dodgy defending, brought the Fijians three stunning first-half tries in little more than ten minutes through Akapusi Qera, Vilimoni Delasau and Kele Leawere. Hardly household names in the West – but national heroes in Fiji for the rest of their lives, for sure.

An Alex Popham try just before the break gave Wales hope – though they were still 15 points adrift. And an inspired opening to the second period brought further scores from flying wing Shane Williams, skipper Gareth Thomas and Mark Jones.

It got even better when Martyn Williams intercepted a pass to score Wales’s fifth try. But Fiji refused to lie down and a couple of penalties plus a scrambled late try by Graham Dewes saw them through to a famous victory.

Sadly, that’s where it is likely to end for the fantasy islanders. They face South Africa in the quarter-finals and the Springboks are far too streetwise to play into Fijian hands the way the naïve Welsh did.

As for Wales, it’s back to basics – just as it was when they were knocked out by Samoa in the 1991 World Cup. Whether those basics will be overseen by a new coach, time will tell.

If Jenkins goes, they might do worse than look at the coaching credentials of veteran skipper Thomas, whose 100th cap was scarcely a cause for celebration. His disciplinary record might not be squeaky clean, but there can be no disputing his commitment to the cause.

‘’We’re going home – but we’re going home proud Welshmen, ‘’ he insisted. ‘’Our defence wasn’t up to standard and we turned ball over in the wrong areas. But we tried our best.‘’

The fact is that the nation that virtually ruled the rugby world 30 years ago must accept that on today’s big stage, they are just bit players. Failing to reach the last eight is a shameful disappointment – but at least it wasn’t for the want of trying.

Let's just say that on the day, Wales could certainly have done with the genius of yet another Gareth - the one that every rugby aficionado remembers as arguably the greatest scrum-half of all time.

Do the Fijians have any hope of progressing further? Post your comments below or write an article for Sportingo if you prefer.