England Secures Ninth Straight Win Over 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
The English squad notched four 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 backs up their win over Australia last Saturday.
The home side got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with tries by Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.
Number ten the Fijian playmaker missed both conversions but slotted a penalty goal to take the Fijians further ahead before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.
Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to spark an entertaining final forty minutes.
Replacements George and Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts into a comfortable lead.
Those scores came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli dropping the ball when attempting to score.
England captain Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the last touchdown.
Borthwick's side now face New Zealand this coming weekend in their toughest test theoretically this fall.
The Fijians Begin Strongly to Challenge The English
Prior to this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their nine matches with Fiji – most recently taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.
That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.
With the Pacific Islanders on a five-game streak – their joint longest run since 1999 – the game was always likely to be hard-fought.
After smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie barged over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a quick response.
Known as the Flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through powerful first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, deployed as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.
But it was the classic attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads 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's Impact Substitutes Shines Once More
The English team broke clear from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the strength of their replacements that included six Lions tourists.
A significantly altered starting XV from the victory 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 the Italians in March.
However, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, the coach introduced five of his bench on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.
With the match still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the tryline to cancel out replacement the hooker's score.
Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a spectacular game-saving stop to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.
It topped off another all-round impressive display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.
Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through demonstrated exactly why England's bench is so influential.
It is full of stars and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were lost versus Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.
Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement this weekend.
Should they win, the bench will likely again be crucial.
Line-ups
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)
