England Secures 9th Consecutive Win 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 notched four second-half tries to overcome a resilient Fijian team in their second autumn international.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their win over Australia the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to ignite an thrilling final forty minutes.

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now meet the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this fall.

Prior to this meeting, the English team had won eight of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most lately taking 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 the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the fixture was always expected to be hard-fought.

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

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through monstrous first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the opening half as offloads cut England's defence open for the fly-half to touch down.

The winger sharply finished a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon versus Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced several of his bench on the 54th minute – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to cancel out replacement George's try.

Flanker Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, 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 received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

Arundell's pace to race on to a grubber kick showcased exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is packed with top players and quality, which has helped secure wins in the closing stages that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

Should they win, the substitutes 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)