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Wales edge nearer last eight with Fiji win

Wales got their third win of the rugby World Cup on Thursday night against Fiji to move closer to a place in the last eight. That berth will be secured if Australia beat England on Saturday. Wales skipper Sam Warburton says players in his injury hit squad are exhausted.

Wales skipper Sam Warburton has led his men to three victories at the rugby World Cup.
Wales skipper Sam Warburton has led his men to three victories at the rugby World Cup. Reuters/Andrew Winning
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Following their 23-13 defeat against Wales on Thursday night, Fiji will head into their final Pool A game against Uruguay on 6 October without a victory on the scoreboard.

But they've won over the hearts and minds of countless neutrals with their dynamic play on the counter-attack and at set pieces.

They've also got the sympathy of many a rugby fan at the World Cup.

Fiji were given a punishing schedule in which they had to play three of the world's top six teams in 13 days.

They opened against England on 19 September, and played Australia on 23 September before Thursday night's game against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

"To play England, Australia and Wales in 13 days is a very, very tough task for any team in world rugby," said Fiji coach John McKee. "It's an absolute credit to this squad and all the players we've got, the support team and coaching staff how we've stood up and been so competitive."

McKee added: "To go so close, although frustrating, I cannot fault our team for the work and effort.

"It's pretty frustrating for me with no points on the table. We knew when we were coming here what a difficult pool we were coming into, but we had high expectations. We have a talented group of players and we work really, really hard to get where we are."

Wales skipper Sam Warburton said in the prelude to the match that his players would not underestimate their opponents who had caused both England and Australia problems during their games.

Five days after leading his side to a draining 28-25 victory over England, Warburton said: "I really do feel for the tier-two nations who have to go through those turnarounds. It was extremely tough, especially at this level," Warburton said.

Wales scored tries through Gareth Davies and Scott Baldwin, and Dan Biggar kicked 13 points. Vereniki Goneva crossed for Fiji's sole try, with Ben Volavola kicking a conversion and two penalties.

"At this level you really need to nail your kicks and we probably left a few out on the park there today," McKee said. "You really need that pressure on the scoreboard to stop the opposition getting more than two scores in front and unfortunately today we missed a couple of shots."

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