England Secures 9th Straight Victory Against Physical Fiji

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 scored four second-half tries to overcome a resilient Fiji side in their second fall test match.

The victory lengthens Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but nailed a penalty goal to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side clear.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

England captain Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the final try.

The English team now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this autumn.

Before this match, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under the head coach.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be competitive.

Following slick phase play, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was clear in defence through monstrous first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for Muntz to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their bench that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did grab the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.

Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fijian number nine the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate replacement George's try.

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is full of stars and talent, which has aided in victories in the final quarter that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Given the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement this weekend.

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)