The English Team Secures 9th Consecutive Win 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 notched four second-half tries to overcome a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.
The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.
England got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to spark an thrilling final forty minutes.
Replacements George and Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.
These tries came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli spilling the ball when attempting to score.
England captain Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.
Borthwick's side now meet the All Blacks next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Challenge The English
Before this meeting, England had won 8 of their 9 games with Fiji – most recently taking a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under the head coach.
With Fiji on a five-game streak – their equal best streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be hard-fought.
After slick phase play, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.
Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through monstrous first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional 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 sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.
Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
England's Star Bench Delivers Again
The English team broke clear from the Wallabies last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their bench that contained six British and Irish Lions.
A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as Genge went over following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles versus the Italians in March.
However, after a clever set piece was completed by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate substitute George's try.
Flanker Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the sides.
It capped another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.
It is full of top players and quality, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were lost against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.
Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.
Should they win, the substitutes will probably 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)
