The English Team Secures Ninth Consecutive Win 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

England notched 4 tries after halftime to beat a resilient Fijian team in their latest fall test match.

The victory continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

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

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to ignite an thrilling final forty minutes.

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

Those scores came around Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

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

The English team now face the All Blacks this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Prior to this match, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine games with Fiji – most lately taking 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came just weeks before the tournament in France and was a significant shift under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their joint longest streak since the late nineties – the fixture was always likely to be tight.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was evident in defense through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Smith, used as a second playmaker, in particular picked out.

But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as passes out of the tackle sliced through the English defense for Muntz to touch down.

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

England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their bench that included six British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did score the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles tendon versus Italy in March.

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions players Pollock and Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out substitute George's try.

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, a try-scorer versus Australia, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It topped off another outstanding overall performance by Earl, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to race on to a grubber kick showcased exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is packed with top players and talent, which has aided in victories in the closing stages that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement next week.

Should they win, the substitutes will probably 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)