The English Team Secures Ninth Straight Win Over Tough Fiji

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 tries after halftime to defeat a physical Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

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

The home side opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting second half.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

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

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

The English team now play the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.

Prior to this encounter, the English team had won eight of their nine matches with Fiji – most lately taking a close contest in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came just weeks before the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

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

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker barged over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful opening period midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

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

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

England pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that contained six Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was completed by the Fijian, Borthwick unloaded five of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate replacement George's try.

Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It capped another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who picked up consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is packed with stars and talent, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the bench will likely 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)