The English Team Secures 9th Consecutive Win Over 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 racked up 4 tries after halftime to overcome a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.
The victory lengthens Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.
England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the visitors further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.
Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an entertaining second half.
Replacements George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts clear.
These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.
The English team now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Challenge England
Before this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine games with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the fixture was always expected to be competitive.
After slick phase play, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker barged over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul providing a quick response.
Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge opening period tackles in the center, with full-back Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.
But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads 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 ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.
The English Impact Substitutes Delivers Again
England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their bench that contained multiple Lions tourists.
A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did score the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.
However, after a smart line-out move was completed by the Fijian, Borthwick introduced five of his bench on the 54th minute – including Lions players Pollock and Curry.
With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate substitute the hooker's score.
Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the sides.
It capped another all-round impressive display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to chase down a grubber kick showcased exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.
It is packed with stars and quality, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.
Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.
Should they win, the bench will likely again be crucial.
Team Sheets
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
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
