England Secures Ninth Straight Win Against 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 second-half tries to overcome a tough Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

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

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.

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

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an entertaining second half.

Replacements Jamie George and Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

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

England captain Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the last touchdown.

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

Before this match, England had claimed victory in eight of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be competitive.

After smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged 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 clear in defence through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in particular picked out.

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

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their bench that included multiple British and Irish Lions.

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

Nonetheless, after a clever line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions players Pollock and Curry.

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

Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer versus Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who received consecutive man of the match honors.

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

It is packed with top players and talent, which has aided in victories in the final quarter that were squandered against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

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

If successful, 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)