England Secures Ninth Straight 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
The English squad scored four second-half tries to beat a resilient Fijian team in their latest fall test match.
The victory continues the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.
The home side got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Feyi-Waboso scored.
Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to spark an thrilling second half.
Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the last touchdown.
The English team now meet New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test on paper this autumn.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Pressure England
Prior to this meeting, the English team had won 8 of their 9 games with Fiji – most lately winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.
With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be hard-fought.
After slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the opening score from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a swift reply.
Known as the flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in particular picked out.
But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the opening half as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for Muntz to touch down.
The winger sharply finished a kick across the field by Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.
The English Impact Substitutes Delivers Again
The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their bench that included six British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against Italy in March.
Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was completed by Ikanivere, the coach introduced five of his substitutes on the 54th minute – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute George's try.
Flanker Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.
It capped another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.
Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so impactful.
It is full of stars and quality, which has aided in wins in the closing stages that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.
Given Scotland ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message next week.
Should they win, the substitutes will probably again be crucial.
Team Sheets
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
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
