The English Team Claims 9th Consecutive Win Over Physical Fiji
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 racked up 4 second-half tries to overcome a physical Fiji side in their second autumn international.
The victory continues the English team's winning run to nine matches and backs up their win over Australia last Saturday.
England got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Prop Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting final forty minutes.
Replacements George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side clear.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.
Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the last touchdown.
Borthwick's side now play New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this fall.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Pressure England
Prior to this encounter, the English team had won 8 of their 9 games with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.
That one defeat came just weeks before the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.
Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful 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 passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for Muntz to score.
The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.
The English Impact Substitutes Delivers Again
England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the power of their bench that included six British and Irish Lions.
A much-changed starting XV from the win over the Australians did score the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.
However, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced five of his bench on the 54th minute – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute George's try.
Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the teams.
It topped off another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.
Arundell's pace to race on to a grubber kick demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is full of stars and talent, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were squandered against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.
Considering 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 substitutes will likely again be crucial.
Line-ups
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)
