England Earns 9th Consecutive Victory 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

The English squad scored four tries after halftime to overcome a resilient Fiji side in their latest fall test match.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick's side's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their triumph over Australia the previous weekend.

England opened the scoring through hooker Cowan-Dickie before Fiji responded with tries by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Number ten the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty to take the visitors further ahead before Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to spark an entertaining second half.

Substitutes Jamie George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, finished off tries to take the hosts clear.

Those scores came either side of Fijian halfback Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when going for the tryline.

England captain Maro Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, grabbed the last touchdown.

The English team now meet the All Blacks next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this fall.

Prior to this encounter, England had claimed victory in eight of their 9 matches with the Fijian side – most lately taking a close contest in the last eight of the last global tournament.

Their sole loss came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a major turning point under the head coach.

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

After slick phase play, back rower Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a swift reply.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was evident in defence through monstrous opening period tackles in the center, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in especial picked out.

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

Feyi-Waboso expertly collected a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England ahead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was given a yellow card following a video review.

The English team broke clear from Australia last Saturday in the last twenty minutes through the strength of their replacements that included six Lions tourists.

A significantly altered starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did score the next try as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after tearing his Achilles tendon against the Italians in spring.

However, after a clever line-out move was finished by the Fijian, Borthwick introduced several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fijian number nine the halfback fumbled of the ball when stretching for the tryline to negate substitute the hooker's score.

Breakdown specialist Ben Earl, who scored against Australia, produced a spectacular try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.

It capped another all-round impressive performance by Earl, who picked up back-to-back man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed 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 helped secure victories in the closing stages that were squandered versus the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will fancy their chances of sending a message next week.

If successful, the bench will likely 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)