England Claims 9th Straight Victory Over Physical 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 scored four tries after halftime to beat a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.

The victory lengthens the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and supports their win over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

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

Number ten Muntz failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to ignite an entertaining final forty minutes.

Substitutes Jamie George and Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the English side clear.

Those scores came either side of Fijian halfback Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.

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

Borthwick's side now face the All Blacks next Saturday in their toughest test on paper this fall.

Before this match, England had won 8 of their nine matches with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in France and was a significant shift under Borthwick.

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

After smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through powerful opening period midfield hits, 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 sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

The winger sharply finished a cross-field kick by Smith to take England ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the power of their bench that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did score the following touchdown as the prop went over following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in March.

Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was completed by Ikanivere, the coach unloaded five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions players Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when stretching for the goal line to cancel out substitute the hooker's score.

Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the sides.

It capped another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who picked up back-to-back man of the match honors.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so impactful.

It is full of top players and talent, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the bench will likely 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)