England Claims Ninth Straight Win Over Tough Fiji

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 physical Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and backs up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.

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

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

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an entertaining final forty minutes.

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

These tries came around Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.

Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the last touchdown.

Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.

Prior to this meeting, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine games with the Fijian side – 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 France and was a significant shift under the head coach.

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

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

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

Feyi-Waboso 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 Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their bench that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

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

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

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to cancel out substitute George's try.

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

It topped off another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.

Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is full of top players and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered against 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.

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)