England Secures Ninth Consecutive Win Against Tough 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 notched four second-half tries to defeat a tough Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory lengthens the English team's winning run to nine matches and backs up their win over Australia the previous weekend.

The home side got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

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

Substitutes Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now face New Zealand next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this autumn.

Prior to this encounter, England had claimed victory in 8 of their 9 games with the Fijian side – most recently taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

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

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.

After slick phase play, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker barged over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a swift reply.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through monstrous first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished 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 sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as the prop went over following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.

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

With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to negate replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to keep breathing room between the sides.

It capped another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is packed with stars and quality, which has helped secure wins in the final quarter that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

Should they win, 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)