In 1984 he made his international debut in the unofficial test between the All Blacks and Fiji in Suva.
[1] For the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 he was one of two Australian referees selected, the other being Bob Fordham.
Fitzgerald refereed pool matches between the England and the United States and Ireland verses Wales.
In the semi-final between New Zealand and Wales, The Welsh player Huw Richards was elbowed in the head by Gary Whetton, who he then punched before being knocked out by Buck Shelford.
[1] In his career Fitzgerald refereed 26 tests, including the semi-final between England and Scotland in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, just 6 weeks before his death.