THE Vodafone Fiji Bati’s near-slaughter of the Australian Kangaroos on Sunday garnered an average Australian television viewership of 1.5 million and a reach of three million viewers, according to the Australian newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.
It was the most-watched program in Australia that night, as the ‘Roos were held at ransom by a Bati side regarded by the Telegraph as a “lowly-funded, tier Two test nation.”
The Bati headed into Sunday night’s fixture as an underdog against a team that thrashed them in previous meetings since the Bati debuted in the Rugby League World Cup in 1995.
However, captain Api Koroisau and his young brigade sought to avenge their past losses with an historic win over the hosts.
The Bati stunned the hosts with a 12-10 at half-time and left ‘Roos fans at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane puzzled at how their typically-dominant men in green were now trailing behind a team they would have upset with ease before.
With a second-half comeback that prompted increased scrutiny over referee and bunker calls, the television numbers for the game soared consequently for the ‘Roos to ultimately win 36-22.
Australian TV figures show the contest was so intense it beat the reality show The Block on television channel Nine, which only managed to pull in an average of 1.4 million viewers and a reach of 2.4 million.
Nine’s flagship news magazine show 60 Minutes also fell behind in sixth place with only 830,000 viewers tuning in and reaching 1.5 million.
Australian flagship news programs on Nine, Seven and the ABC channel were also beaten in viewership figures by the Bati v ‘Roos clash.
The Daily Telegraph also reported the crowd attendance at the stadium of 41,108 was higher than the 2017 World Cup at the same venue of 40,033.
Meanwhile, 11 the Fiji Bati for this year’s World Cup have never had any NRL experience and were picked from other NRL competitions.
The Bati face New Zealand this Saturday at 4.30pm at the Cbus Super Stadium on the Gold Coast in Australia.
Their female counterparts, the Bulikula, face France at 2.20pm.
