England Claims 9th Straight Victory Over Tough 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 scored four second-half tries to beat a tough Fijian team in their second autumn international.

This win lengthens the English team's winning run to nine games and follows up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with tries by Ikanivere and Muntz.

Fly-half Muntz failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to spark an thrilling second half.

Replacements George and Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts clear.

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

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

Borthwick's side now meet New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Prior to this match, the English team had won eight of their 9 games with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in France and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-game streak – their equal best streak since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.

After slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through monstrous first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to touch down.

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

The English team pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their replacements that contained multiple Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the next try as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.

However, after a smart set piece was completed by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced five of his bench on the 54th minute – featuring Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback fumbled of the ball when stretching for the goal line to negate substitute the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a grubber kick showcased 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 lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

If successful, 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)