England Secures 9th Straight Win Over Physical Fiji
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
The English squad scored 4 tries after halftime to defeat a tough Fiji side in their second fall test match.
The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.
England opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.
Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to spark an exciting final forty minutes.
Substitutes George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.
These tries came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when going for the tryline.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the last touchdown.
The English team now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.
Fiji Start Fast to Challenge The English
Prior to this encounter, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their nine games with Fiji – most recently taking 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.
That one defeat came just weeks before the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since 1999 – the game was always likely to be competitive.
Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a quick response.
Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through monstrous opening period tackles in the center, 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 opening half as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.
Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts ahead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a sin-binning following a video review.
The English Impact Substitutes Shines Once More
England broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their bench that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.
A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Australians did score the next try as the prop went over following a powerful run by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles against the Italians in spring.
Nonetheless, after a smart line-out move was completed by Ikanivere, the coach introduced five of his bench 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 replacement George's try.
Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.
It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is packed with stars and quality, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were squandered against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.
Given Scotland ran New Zealand close, the English team will fancy their chances of sending a message next week.
If successful, the bench will probably play another key factor.
Team Sheets
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
Match Officials
Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)
Television match official: Mike Adamson (Scotland)
