England Earns 9th Straight Victory Against 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

The English squad racked up four second-half tries to defeat a resilient Fijian team in their second autumn international.

This win continues the English team's undefeated streak to nine matches and supports their win over Australia the previous weekend.

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

Fly-half Muntz failed to convert either try but kicked a penalty goal to take the Fijians further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then exchanged tries to begin an thrilling second half.

Substitutes Jamie George and Arundell, who showed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

These tries came either side of Fijian halfback Kuruvoli spilling the ball when going for the tryline.

England captain Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, scored the last touchdown.

Borthwick's side now face the All Blacks next Saturday in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.

Before this meeting, the English team had claimed victory in eight of their 9 matches with Fiji – most recently winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in Europe and was a significant shift under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-game streak – their equal best streak since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be tight.

After slick phase play, back rower Cunningham-South gained valuable meters before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the first try from close range, with the Fijian's score off the back of a driving maul providing a swift reply.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was clear in defence through huge first-half midfield hits, with full-back Smith, used as a additional playmaker, in particular targeted.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the first forty as offloads cut England's defence open for Muntz to score.

The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin 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 bunker review.

The English team broke clear from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the impact of their replacements that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.

A significantly altered starting XV from the victory over the Australians did score the following touchdown as Genge went over following a strong carry by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon versus Italy in March.

However, after a clever line-out move was completed by the Fijian, the coach unloaded several of his substitutes on the 54th minute – including Lions tourists Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out substitute the hooker's score.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the teams.

It capped another outstanding overall performance 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 the English replacements is so impactful.

It is full of stars and talent, which has helped secure wins in the closing stages that were lost against the Wallabies and New Zealand the previous fall.

Given the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

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)