The English Team Earns Ninth Consecutive Win Over Tough 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 scored four second-half tries to beat a tough Fijian team in their second fall test match.

This win lengthens the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.

The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

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

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to spark an entertaining second half.

Substitutes Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side clear.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the last touchdown.

Borthwick's side now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this autumn.

Before this encounter, England had won 8 of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in France and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the game was always expected to be competitive.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, used as a second playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open 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 dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.

England broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the power of their replacements that included six Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did score the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.

However, after a smart set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54th minute – including Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

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

Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

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

Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is packed with stars and talent, which has aided in wins in the closing stages that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Considering the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement this weekend.

Should they win, the substitutes will probably 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)