England Earns Ninth Consecutive Win Against 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 racked up 4 tries after halftime to beat a physical Fiji side in their second autumn international.
This win extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their win over Australia last Saturday.
England got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but kicked a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to ignite an thrilling second half.
Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came around Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli spilling the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the final try.
The English team now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this autumn.
The Fijians Start Fast to Pressure The English
Prior to this match, England had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most lately taking 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the tournament in France and was a major turning point under the head coach.
With Fiji on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since 1999 – the game was always likely to be competitive.
After slick phase play, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.
Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through powerful first-half midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in particular picked out.
But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.
The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
England's Impact Substitutes Delivers Again
The English team broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that included multiple Lions tourists.
A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did score the following touchdown as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles versus Italy in March.
However, after a clever set piece was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded five of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate replacement the hooker's score.
Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the sides.
It topped off another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up back-to-back man of the match honors.
Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is full of top players and talent, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.
Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message next week.
Should they win, the substitutes will probably play another key factor.
Team Sheets
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
Refereeing Team
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
