England Claims 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

The English squad scored 4 tries after halftime to overcome a physical Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

The home side got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Muntz.

Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty goal to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to spark an entertaining final forty minutes.

Substitutes Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts clear.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

England captain Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the final try.

The English team now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.

Before this meeting, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their 9 matches with Fiji – most lately taking a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since 1999 – the game was always likely to be competitive.

After smooth attacking phases, number eight 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 maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the power of their bench that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the victory over the Australians did score the next try as the prop went over following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against Italy in March.

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

With the match still up for grabs, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out substitute George's try.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a grubber kick demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is packed with top players and talent, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

Should they win, the bench 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)