England Claims 9th 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

England notched 4 second-half tries to defeat a resilient Fijian team in their second autumn international.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but kicked a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

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

Substitutes George and Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts clear.

These tries came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, scored the last touchdown.

The English team now play New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this fall.

Prior to this meeting, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine games with Fiji – most recently winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

That one defeat 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 run since 1999 – the fixture was always expected to be competitive.

Following slick phase play, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding 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 second playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads sliced through the English defense for Muntz to score.

The winger sharply finished a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their bench that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as the prop went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.

However, after a smart set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54th minute – featuring Lions players Pollock and Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the teams.

It topped off another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

It is full of stars and quality, which has aided in wins in the closing stages that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

Should they win, the bench will likely 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)