Fiji were strong and, as usual, underestimated, given they are the world No.9 ranked side. Schmidt pointed out they’d given England a major scare at the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals, and England did likewise to eventual champions South Africa in the semi–finals. But a scrappy performance from Australia still did not paint a picture of a Wallabies team who is ready to take down the Lions in Brisbane on July 19. Asked if the patchy Newcastle performance would pitch the Wallabies as underdogs against the star-studded Lions, Schmidt said: “I’m sure externally it will look like that.” “We didn’t play well enough today for people to have the expectation that we’re going to come bowling into Brisbane and knock the Lions over. I’m not sure that expectation was there before today,” Schmidt said.