England Secures Ninth Consecutive Win Over Physical Fijian Side

Quilter Nations Series

England (14) 38

Tries: Cowan-Dickie, Feyi-Waboso, Genge, George, Arundell, Itoje Cons: F Smith 5

Fiji (13) 18

Tries: Ikanivere 2, Muntz Pen: Muntz

England notched four second-half tries to overcome a physical Fijian team in their second autumn international.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine games and supports their triumph over the Wallabies last Saturday.

England got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with tries by Ikanivere and Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to begin an thrilling second half.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the hosts clear.

These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.

England captain Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the final try.

The English team now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Before this match, the English team had won eight of their 9 matches with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be hard-fought.

After smooth attacking phases, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul adding a swift reply.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the opening half as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a video review.

The English team broke clear from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their replacements that contained multiple Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against Italy in March.

However, after a clever line-out move was completed by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute George's try.

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It topped off another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received consecutive man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a grubber kick demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is full of stars and talent, which has aided in victories in the closing stages that were lost against Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the bench will probably again be crucial.

England: M Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South

Replacements: George, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje, T Curry, Pollock, Spencer, Arundell

Fiji: Rayasi; Ravutaumada, Ravouvou, Tuisova, Wainiqolo; Muntz, Kuruvoli; Mawi, Ikanivere, Doge, Nasilasila, Mayanavanua, Sowakula, Canakaivata, Mata

Replacements: Togiatama, Hetet, Tawake, Vocevoce, Murray, Wye, Armstrong-Ravula, Maqala

Sin-bin: Ravutaumada

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)

Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)

Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)