England Secures Ninth Consecutive 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 racked up four tries after halftime to beat a tough Fiji side in their second fall test match.

The victory extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

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

Number ten the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

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

Substitutes George and Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side clear.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.

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

Borthwick's side now meet New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this fall.

Prior to this meeting, England had won eight of their nine matches with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be hard-fought.

Following smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through monstrous first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for Muntz to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their bench that contained six Lions tourists.

A much-changed starting lineup from the victory over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as Genge went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles against Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced five of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is packed with top players and quality, which has aided in victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of sending a message this weekend.

If successful, the substitutes will probably 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)