England Secures 9th Consecutive Victory Over Physical Fijian Side

Autumn International 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 4 tries after halftime to defeat a tough Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and follows up their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

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

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

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

Substitutes Jamie George and Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, 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 going for the tryline.

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, scored the final try.

The English team now meet New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Before this encounter, the English team had won 8 of their 9 games with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

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

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

After smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads sliced through the English defense for Muntz to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the power of their bench that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles against the Italians in March.

However, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the goal line to negate substitute George's try.

Flanker Ben Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to keep a narrow lead between the sides.

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

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

It is full of stars and quality, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of making a big statement this weekend.

Should they win, 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)