England Secures Ninth Straight Victory Against 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

The English squad notched four second-half tries to defeat a tough Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

This win extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.

Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but nailed a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to begin an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts clear.

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

England captain Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the final try.

Borthwick's side now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this fall.

Prior to this match, the English team had won eight of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came two months prior the competition in France and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be competitive.

Following slick phase play, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for Muntz to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.

The English team pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their replacements that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did score the following touchdown as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was completed by the Fijian, Borthwick introduced five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate replacement the hooker's score.

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

It topped off another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive man of the match honors.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

It is packed with top players and quality, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were lost against Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement this weekend.

If successful, 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)