England Claims 9th Straight Win Against Physical 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 notched four tries after halftime to beat a tough Fiji side in their latest fall test match.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their win over Australia the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty goal to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

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

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side clear.

Those scores came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.

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

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

Prior to this meeting, England had claimed victory in 8 of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

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

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be tight.

Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a quick response.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through huge opening period tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

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 the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card 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 Genge crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against Italy in spring.

However, after a smart set piece was finished by Ikanivere, the coach unloaded five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate substitute George's try.

Flanker Ben Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to keep a narrow lead between the sides.

It capped another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who received consecutive man of the match honors.

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

It is packed with top players and quality, which has aided in victories in the final quarter that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the bench will likely 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)