England Claims Ninth Consecutive Win 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

England racked up 4 second-half tries 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 backs up their win over the Wallabies last Saturday.

England got on the board first through Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji answered back with scores by Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but slotted a penalty to take the Fijians further clear before Feyi-Waboso scored.

Ellis Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to begin an exciting final forty minutes.

Substitutes Jamie George and Arundell, who demonstrated his blistering speed, finished off tries to take the English side into a comfortable lead.

Those scores came around Fiji scrum-half 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 the All Blacks this coming weekend in their biggest challenge theoretically this fall.

Before this encounter, England had won eight of their 9 matches with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the last eight of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament in Europe and was a significant shift under the head coach.

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

After slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker forced his way over for the first try from short distance, with the Fijian's score off the back of a maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the flying Fijians, that was apparent in defence through monstrous first-half midfield hits, with full-back Marcus Smith, used as a second playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the standout moment in the first forty as passes out of the tackle cut England's defence open for Muntz to touch down.

The winger expertly collected a kick across the field by Fin Smith to take the hosts into the lead after he had been dangerously taken out in the air by Selestino Ravutaumada, who was awarded a yellow card following a video review.

The English team pulled away from Australia the previous weekend in the final quarter through the impact of their bench that contained multiple British and Irish Lions.

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

Nonetheless, after a clever set piece was finished by Ikanivere, the coach introduced several of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – featuring Lions tourists Pollock and Curry.

With the game still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate substitute the hooker's score.

Breakdown specialist Earl, a try-scorer versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain a narrow lead between the sides.

It capped another outstanding overall display by Earl, who picked up back-to-back player-of-the-match awards.

Arundell's pace to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

It is packed with top players and talent, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were squandered against Australia and the All Blacks the previous fall.

Considering Scotland pushed the All Blacks hard, the English team will feel confident of making a big statement this weekend.

Should they win, the substitutes will probably play another key factor.

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)