England Claims Ninth Straight Victory Against Tough Fiji
Autumn International 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 second-half tries to beat a tough Fijian team in their second fall test match.
The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their triumph over Australia last Saturday.
England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to spark an thrilling second half.
Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts clear.
These tries came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the last touchdown.
Borthwick's side now face the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Pressure England
Prior to this encounter, England had won 8 of their nine games with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-game streak – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the game was always expected to be competitive.
Following slick phase play, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul adding a quick response.
Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through monstrous opening period 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 highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.
The winger 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 awarded a yellow card following a bunker review.
England's Star Bench Delivers Again
England broke clear from the Wallabies last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their replacements that contained six Lions tourists.
A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as the prop went over following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon versus the Italians in March.
Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded five of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.
With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate substitute George's try.
Flanker Ben Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep 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 grubber kick showcased exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is packed with top players and talent, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.
Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.
If successful, 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)
