The English Team Claims Ninth Consecutive Victory Over 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

The English squad scored 4 second-half tries to defeat a physical Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory lengthens the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and follows up their triumph over the Wallabies last Saturday.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Ikanivere and Muntz.

Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.

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

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came either side of Fijian halfback Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, grabbed the final try.

The English team now meet New Zealand this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.

Prior to this encounter, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with Fiji – most recently taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in France and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be competitive.

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

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the opening half as offloads cut England's defence open for Muntz to touch down.

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 bunker review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their replacements that included six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the victory over the Australians did grab the next try as Genge went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against the Italians in spring.

Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the goal line to cancel out substitute the hooker's score.

Breakdown specialist Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to keep a narrow lead between the teams.

It topped off another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is full of stars and talent, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were lost versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

If successful, the substitutes will probably again be crucial.

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)