England Claims 9th Consecutive Victory Against Physical 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

The English squad scored four second-half tries to overcome a physical Fiji side in their second autumn international.

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

The home side got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an entertaining second half.

Replacements Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

These tries came around Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.

England captain 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 theoretically this autumn.

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

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the game was always expected 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 maul providing a quick response.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a second 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 Muntz to touch down.

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a video review.

England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that contained multiple Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting XV from the victory over the Wallabies did score the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles against Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was completed by the Fijian, Borthwick unloaded several of his bench on the 54th minute – including Lions players Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out replacement George's try.

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

It topped off another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to race on to a grubber kick showcased exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

It is packed with stars and quality, which has aided in victories in the final quarter that were lost versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of sending a message next week.

Should they win, the substitutes will probably 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)