The English Team Secures 9th Straight Win Over Tough 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
The English squad racked up four second-half tries to overcome a resilient Fijian team in their latest autumn international.
The victory continues Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and backs up their win over Australia the previous weekend.
The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Muntz.
Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to spark an entertaining second half.
Substitutes George and Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts clear.
These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the last touchdown.
The English team now meet the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge theoretically this autumn.
Fiji Start Fast to Pressure England
Prior to this meeting, England had claimed victory in 8 of their nine games with the Fijian side – most lately taking a close contest in the last eight of the last global tournament.
Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in France and was a major turning point under the head coach.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.
After smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul adding a quick response.
Known as the flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.
But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the opening half as offloads cut England's defence open 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 dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a video review.
The English Impact Substitutes Delivers Again
England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that included multiple Lions tourists.
A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next try as Genge went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon against the Italians in spring.
However, after a clever line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute the hooker's score.
Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.
It topped off another outstanding overall display by Earl, who picked up consecutive 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 closing stages that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.
Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.
Should they win, the bench will probably play another key factor.
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)
