England Earns Ninth Consecutive 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

England racked up four second-half tries to defeat a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.

This win continues Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their win over Australia the previous weekend.

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

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to begin an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts clear.

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

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

Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.

Prior to this match, England had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most recently taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

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

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South made good ground 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 quick response.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a video review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their replacements that included six Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting XV from the victory 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 versus the Italians in March.

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

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the goal line to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back man of the match honors.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements 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 Scotland ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message next week.

If successful, the bench 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)