England Secures Ninth Straight Win 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

England notched 4 second-half tries to overcome a resilient Fijian team in their second fall test match.

This win continues Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine games and supports their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

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

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

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an exciting final forty minutes.

Substitutes George and Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now meet the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this autumn.

Prior to this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine matches with Fiji – most lately taking a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under the head coach.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be tight.

After smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through monstrous first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to touch down.

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a video review.

England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that included six British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as the prop crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles versus Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, the coach unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out replacement George's try.

Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to keep breathing room between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by Earl, who received consecutive man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is full of stars and quality, which has helped secure wins in the final quarter that were squandered versus Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message next week.

If successful, 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)