The English Team Claims Ninth Consecutive Win 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 notched four tries after halftime to defeat a tough Fiji side in their second autumn international.

The victory continues the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.

The home side got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Muntz.

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

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting second half.

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his scintillating pace, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, grabbed the final try.

The English team now play the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this autumn.

Before this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their 9 games with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

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

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the fixture was always expected to be competitive.

After slick phase play, back rower Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through huge opening period midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the first forty as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.

England broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their replacements that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did grab the following touchdown as the prop went over following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon versus the Italians in March.

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

With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute George's try.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus Australia, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.

It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received consecutive man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

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

Considering the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the bench 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)