The English Team Secures 9th Consecutive Win Over Tough Fiji

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 scored 4 second-half tries to defeat a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.

This win lengthens the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but nailed a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to spark an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came around Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.

England captain Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.

The English team now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this autumn.

Before this match, England had won eight of their 9 games with Fiji – most lately winning 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 Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.

After smooth attacking phases, back rower Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker barged over for the opening score from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul adding a quick response.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful opening period tackles in the center, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the first forty as offloads cut England's defence open for Muntz to score.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a video review.

The English team pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that included multiple Lions tourists.

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

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate substitute George's try.

Breakdown specialist Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It topped off another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.

Arundell's pace to race on to a grubber kick showcased exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is packed with stars and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the substitutes will probably 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)