England Earns Ninth Consecutive Win Against 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 racked up 4 tries after halftime to beat a tough Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

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

Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to begin an exciting second half.

Substitutes George and Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.

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

Borthwick's side now face New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test on paper this autumn.

Before this encounter, England had won eight of their 9 games with Fiji – most recently taking a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

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

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take England 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 the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did score the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles versus the Italians in March.

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

With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the goal line to negate replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, who scored against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to keep breathing room between the sides.

It topped off another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is packed with top players and quality, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were lost versus the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

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

Should they win, 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)