England Claims 9th Straight Win Against Tough 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

England scored four tries after halftime to beat a resilient Fijian team in their second autumn international.

This win extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Muntz.

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

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who showed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts clear.

Those scores came around Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, secured the last touchdown.

The English team now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this fall.

Before this meeting, England had won 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most lately taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came just weeks before 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 run since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be competitive.

After smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score 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 monstrous first-half midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

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

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a video review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that included multiple Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did score the next try as Genge went over following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon against Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was completed by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded several of his bench on the 54th minute – featuring Lions players Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute George's try.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive display by the flanker, who picked up consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so impactful.

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

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

Should they win, 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)