England Secures 9th 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 four tries after halftime to beat a physical Fiji side in their second fall test match.
The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their win over Australia the previous weekend.
England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting second half.
Replacements Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the English side clear.
Those scores came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the last touchdown.
The English team now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Pressure The English
Before this meeting, England had won eight of their 9 matches with Fiji – most lately winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came two months prior the tournament in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be tight.
Following smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul adding a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defence through monstrous opening period midfield hits, with full-back Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.
But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the opening half as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to touch down.
The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
England's Star Bench Shines Once More
The English team pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting XV from the win over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon versus the Italians in March.
However, after a smart line-out move was finished by the Fijian, Borthwick unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions players Pollock and Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate substitute the hooker's score.
Flanker Earl, who scored against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.
It topped off another all-round impressive performance by the flanker, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.
Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.
It is full of top players and talent, which has aided in wins in the closing stages that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand 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 likely again be crucial.
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
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
