England Claims 9th Straight Victory Against 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

The English squad scored four second-half tries to beat a tough Fijian team in their latest autumn international.

This win extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

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

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came around Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now face New Zealand next Saturday in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.

Prior to this encounter, England had won 8 of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most lately winning 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came two months prior the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their equal best streak since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be tight.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through powerful opening period midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the first forty as offloads cut England's defence open for Muntz to score.

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

England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that included six British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.

Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was completed by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to cancel out replacement George's try.

Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

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 quality, which has aided in victories in the closing stages that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

If successful, the bench will probably again be crucial.

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)