England Earns Ninth Consecutive Victory Against Physical Fijian Side
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 beat a physical Fiji side in their second autumn international.
This win continues the English team's winning run to nine matches and supports their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.
England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.
Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.
Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to ignite an thrilling final forty minutes.
Substitutes George and Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the English side clear.
These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.
The English team now play New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test on paper this fall.
Fiji Start Fast to Challenge The English
Before this match, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their 9 matches with Fiji – most lately winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With Fiji on a five-game streak – their equal best run since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be tight.
After slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful opening period midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.
The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a bunker review.
The English Star Bench Delivers Again
England broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their bench that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.
A much-changed starting XV from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.
Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, the coach unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Curry.
With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.
Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus Australia, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.
It capped another all-round impressive performance by the flanker, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is packed with stars and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.
Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will feel confident of sending a message next week.
If successful, 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
Refereeing Team
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)