England Secures 9th Straight Win Over Tough 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 4 second-half tries to defeat a resilient Fijian team in their latest autumn international.

The victory lengthens Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine games and supports their win over Australia the previous weekend.

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

Number ten Muntz missed both conversions but nailed a penalty goal to take the Fijians further clear before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an thrilling second half.

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.

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

Borthwick's side now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Before this meeting, England had won 8 of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most lately taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came two months prior the tournament in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be hard-fought.

Following slick phase play, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul adding a swift reply.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through monstrous opening period tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the first forty as offloads cut England's defence open for the fly-half to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Australians did score the next try as Genge went over following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is full of stars and talent, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

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 substitutes will likely play another key factor.

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)