The English Team Claims 9th Consecutive 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
England racked up 4 tries after halftime to beat a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.
The victory extends the English team's winning run to nine matches and follows up their triumph over Australia last Saturday.
England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before the visitors responded with tries by Ikanivere and Muntz.
Number ten Muntz missed both conversions but kicked a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.
Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an exciting final forty minutes.
Substitutes George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his blistering speed, touched down to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
Skipper Itoje, who also came off the bench, secured the final try.
Borthwick's side now face the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.
The Fijians Start Fast to Pressure The English
Before this encounter, England had won eight of their 9 games with the Fijian side – most recently winning a close contest in the last eight of the last global tournament.
Their sole loss came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a major turning point under the head coach.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since the late nineties – the game was always likely to be competitive.
Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before the hooker forced his way over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.
But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the first forty as offloads cut England's defence open for the fly-half to score.
Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a kick across the field by Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been illegally challenged in the air by Ravutaumada, who was given a sin-binning following a bunker review.
The English Star Bench Shines Once More
England pulled away from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the last twenty minutes through the impact of their bench that included six Lions tourists.
A significantly altered starting XV from the win over the Australians did score the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.
Nonetheless, after a smart set piece was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded several of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out substitute George's try.
Flanker Ben Earl, who scored against Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.
It topped off another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up consecutive man of the match honors.
Arundell's pace to race on to a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so influential.
It is full of top players and quality, which has aided in wins 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 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)
