England Secures 9th Straight Victory Against 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 racked up four tries after halftime to defeat a tough Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory continues Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

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

Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to begin an exciting final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.

England captain Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, scored the final try.

Borthwick's side now face New Zealand next Saturday in their biggest challenge on paper this autumn.

Prior to this meeting, the English team had won eight of their 9 games with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be hard-fought.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker barged over for the opening score from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through huge first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Marcus Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the highlight in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did grab the next try as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles against Italy in spring.

Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was finished by Ikanivere, the coach introduced several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game 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 Ben Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive man of the match honors.

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

It is full of top players and talent, which has helped secure wins in the final quarter that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

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

If successful, 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)