The English Team Claims 9th Straight 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 scored 4 tries after halftime to beat a physical Fiji side in their second fall test match.

This win lengthens Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Number ten Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to take the visitors further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an exciting second half.

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

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

Borthwick's side now play New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this autumn.

Before this meeting, England had won 8 of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently taking a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be tight.

Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through huge first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take England ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their bench that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the win over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as the prop went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was completed by the Fijian, Borthwick unloaded five of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Pollock and Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Ben Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to keep a narrow lead between the teams.

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

Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

It is full of stars and quality, which has aided in victories in the final quarter that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the substitutes will likely 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)