The English Team Claims 9th Straight Victory Over 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 tries after halftime to defeat a physical Fijian team in their second autumn international.
The victory extends the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia last Saturday.
The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting second half.
Replacements Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts clear.
Those scores came around Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the last touchdown.
Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this fall.
Fiji Start Fast to Pressure England
Before this meeting, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their 9 matches with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 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 the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be tight.
Following 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 driving maul adding a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge opening period tackles in the center, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.
But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.
The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
The English Star Bench Shines Once More
England pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.
However, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate replacement George's try.
Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer versus Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.
It topped off another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.
Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.
It is packed with stars and talent, which has helped secure wins in the final quarter that were squandered versus 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 next week.
Should they win, the substitutes will probably play another key factor.
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)
