England Secures Ninth Consecutive 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

England notched four second-half tries to beat a physical Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and backs up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.

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

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

Prop Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to begin an thrilling second half.

Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts clear.

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

Skipper Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the last touchdown.

The English team now play the All Blacks next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Prior to this encounter, the English team had won eight of their 9 games with the Fijian side – most recently winning a close contest in the last eight of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest streak since 1999 – the game was always expected to be competitive.

Following slick phase play, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defence through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial 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 Muntz to score.

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take England into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a bunker review.

England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the power of their bench that contained six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did score the next try as the prop went over following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon versus the Italians in spring.

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was finished by the Fijian, the coach introduced 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 fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to cancel out substitute George's try.

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

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

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

It is packed with top players and talent, which has helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will fancy their chances of making a big statement this weekend.

If successful, the substitutes 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)