England Claims 9th Consecutive Win Against Tough Fiji

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

This win extends the English team's winning run to nine matches and supports their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.

England got on the board first through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

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

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to ignite an exciting second half.

Substitutes Jamie George and Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.

These tries came either side of Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.

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

Borthwick's side now play New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Before this encounter, the English team had won 8 of their 9 games with Fiji – most lately taking 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came two months prior the competition in France and was a major turning point under the head coach.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their joint longest run since 1999 – the fixture was always expected to be hard-fought.

Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul adding a swift reply.

Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a cross-field kick by Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a bunker review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that contained multiple 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 powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon versus Italy in spring.

However, after a clever line-out move was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions players Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate replacement George's try.

Flanker Ben Earl, who scored versus Australia, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

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

Arundell's pace to chase down a grubber kick demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

It is full of top players and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of making a big statement this weekend.

Should they win, 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)