England Earns 9th Straight Win Over Tough Fijian Side

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 four tries after halftime to beat a physical Fiji side in their latest autumn international.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's winning run to nine matches and supports their triumph over the Wallabies last Saturday.

The home side opened the scoring through Luke Cowan-Dickie before the visitors answered back with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then exchanged tries to ignite an entertaining final forty minutes.

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

Those scores came either side of 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 New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Prior to this meeting, England had claimed victory in eight of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the competition in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best run since the late nineties – the game was always expected to be hard-fought.

Following slick phase play, number eight Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the opening score from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defense through huge first-half midfield hits, with number fifteen Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the classic Fijian attacking flair 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 ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team broke clear from the Wallabies the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next try as the prop crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles against Italy in March.

However, after a smart set piece was finished by the Fijian, Borthwick introduced five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions players Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute the hooker's score.

Breakdown specialist Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the sides.

It topped off another outstanding overall display by Earl, who received consecutive player-of-the-match awards.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why England's bench is so influential.

It is packed with top players and quality, which has aided in wins in the final quarter that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand last autumn.

Given Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message next week.

Should they win, the bench 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)