England Claims Ninth Straight Win Against Physical 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

England notched four second-half tries to defeat a tough Fijian team in their second autumn international.

This win lengthens the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.

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

Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but kicked a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to ignite an entertaining final forty minutes.

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

These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the last touchdown.

Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this fall.

Before this match, England had claimed victory in eight of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be hard-fought.

After smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through monstrous opening period midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for Muntz to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a video review.

The English team broke clear from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting XV from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out replacement George's try.

Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who picked up consecutive man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is packed with top players and talent, which has helped secure wins in the closing stages that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given the Scottish side 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.

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)