England Earns Ninth Straight 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 beat a physical Fijian team in their second autumn international.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies last Saturday.

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

Number ten Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to spark an exciting second half.

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

Those scores came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli spilling the ball when attempting to score.

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, scored the final try.

Borthwick's side now play New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Prior to this meeting, the English team had won eight of their nine games with the Fijian side – most recently winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since 1999 – the fixture was always expected to be competitive.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker 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 apparent in defense through monstrous first-half midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for Muntz to touch down.

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a video review.

England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their bench that included multiple Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the next try as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles versus Italy in spring.

However, after a clever set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions players Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep breathing room between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is full of top players and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were lost against Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement 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)