England Claims 9th Straight Victory Against 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 racked up 4 second-half tries to overcome a physical Fiji side in their second fall test match.
The victory lengthens the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their triumph over the Wallabies last Saturday.
The home side opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Muntz.
Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but slotted 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.
Replacements George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.
Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the final try.
The English team now meet New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this autumn.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Challenge The English
Before this encounter, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most lately winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be tight.
After smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul adding a quick response.
Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge opening period midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for Muntz to score.
The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.
The English Star Bench Shines Once More
England pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.
A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Australians did score the next try as Genge went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles tendon versus Italy in March.
Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was completed by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded several 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 lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute the hooker's score.
Flanker Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to keep a narrow lead between the sides.
It capped another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who received consecutive man of the match honors.
Arundell's pace to chase down a grubber kick demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.
It is packed with stars and talent, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were lost versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.
Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.
Should they win, the substitutes will likely 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)
