England Earns Ninth Straight Victory Over Tough Fijian Side
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
The English squad notched 4 tries after halftime to overcome a physical Fiji side in their second fall test match.
The victory lengthens the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and follows up their win over Australia last Saturday.
The home side got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but nailed a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.
Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to begin an thrilling final forty minutes.
Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side clear.
Those scores came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
England captain Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, grabbed the final try.
The English team now play New Zealand this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.
Fiji Start Fast to Challenge The English
Prior to this match, England had claimed victory in 8 of their nine games with Fiji – most recently winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the tournament in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the game was always likely to be tight.
Following smooth attacking phases, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment 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 ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a video review.
England's Impact Substitutes Shines Once More
The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the power of their bench that contained six British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting XV from the win over the Australians did score the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.
Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, Borthwick introduced five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate replacement George's try.
Flanker Ben Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the sides.
It capped another all-round impressive performance by the flanker, who received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is packed with stars and talent, which has aided in wins in the closing stages that were lost versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.
Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.
If successful, the bench 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)
