The English Team Earns 9th Straight Win Over Physical 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 notched 4 tries after halftime to defeat a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.
This win extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and backs up their win over Australia the previous weekend.
England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to spark an exciting second half.
Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts clear.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.
Borthwick's side now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Pressure England
Prior to this meeting, England had won 8 of their nine games with the Fijian side – most recently taking 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 major turning point under the head coach.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected 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 close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, used as a second playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair 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.
Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.
The English Star Bench Shines Once More
England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that included multiple British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did score the following touchdown as Genge went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.
However, after a clever line-out move was completed by the Fijian, the coach introduced five of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the goal line to negate substitute George's try.
Flanker Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to keep breathing room between the teams.
It capped another outstanding overall display by the flanker, who received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.
It is full of stars and talent, which has helped secure wins in the closing stages that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.
Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.
Should they win, the bench 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
Refereeing Team
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
