England Secures 9th Consecutive 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

England scored 4 tries after halftime to defeat a resilient Fijian team in their second autumn international.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but slotted a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to begin an thrilling final forty minutes.

Replacements George and Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

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

England captain Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the last touchdown.

Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test on paper this autumn.

Before this encounter, the English team had won 8 of their nine matches with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in Europe and was a significant shift 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 tight.

Following smooth attacking phases, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in particular picked out.

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

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a kick across the field by Smith to take England ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their bench that included six Lions tourists.

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

However, after a smart line-out move was finished by the Fijian, Borthwick unloaded five of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the goal line to negate replacement the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, who scored against the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep breathing room between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by the flanker, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

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

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

Considering Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will feel confident of sending a message next week.

If successful, the bench will likely 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)