The English Team Secures 9th Straight 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

The English squad scored 4 tries after halftime to defeat a physical Fijian team in their second fall test match.

The victory continues Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine games and backs up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.

England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

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

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to spark an thrilling second half.

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

These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now meet New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test on paper this autumn.

Prior to this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine games with the Fijian side – most lately winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

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

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

After smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

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 score.

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their bench that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did score the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon versus the Italians in spring.

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

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

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

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

It is full of stars and quality, which has aided in victories 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 feel confident of making a big statement this weekend.

If successful, the bench 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)