England Earns 9th Straight Win Against 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 notched 4 second-half tries to beat a resilient Fiji side in their second autumn international.

This win extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and follows up their triumph over Australia last Saturday.

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

Fly-half the Fijian playmaker failed to convert either try but nailed a penalty goal to take the Fijians further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to ignite an thrilling second half.

Replacements George and Henry Arundell, who displayed his scintillating pace, touched down to take the English side clear.

Those scores came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

Skipper Itoje, who also entered as a substitute, grabbed the final try.

Borthwick's side now play the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge on paper this fall.

Prior to this meeting, the English team had claimed victory in 8 of their nine games with the Fijian side – most lately taking a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came just weeks before the competition in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With the Pacific Islanders on a five-match winning run – their joint longest run since the late nineties – the game was always expected to be hard-fought.

Following smooth attacking phases, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul adding a swift reply.

Known as the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defense through huge opening period midfield hits, with number fifteen Marcus Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial targeted.

But it was the vintage Fijian attacking flair that was the standout moment in the opening half as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take England into the lead 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 pulled away from Australia last Saturday 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 score the next try as Genge crossed following a strong carry by Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after suffering his Achilles tendon against the Italians in spring.

However, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick introduced several of his bench on the 54th minute – including Lions players Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fijian number nine Kuruvoli fumbled of the ball when reaching for the goal line to cancel out replacement George's try.

Flanker Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to keep a narrow lead between the sides.

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

The substitute's speed to race on to a kick through demonstrated exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

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

Considering the Scottish side pushed the All Blacks hard, Borthwick's side will feel confident of sending a message this weekend.

If successful, the substitutes 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)