England beat physical Fiji for ninth straight win

Quilter Nations Series

England (14) 38

Tries Cowan-Dickie, Feyi-Waboso, Genge, George, Arundell, Itoje Cons: F Smith 4

Fiji (13) 18

England scored four second-half tries to see off a tough Fiji side in their second autumn international at Allianz Stadium.

The victory extends Steve Borthwick’s side’s winning run to nine games and backs up their win over Australia last Saturday.

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

Fly-half Muntz missed both conversions but nailed a penalty to take the visitors further clear before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed.

Ellis Genge and Ikanivere then traded scores to spark an entertaining second half.

Once again England’s bench delivered in the second half after five forwards were rolled on with the score at 21-18.

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

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

England captain Maro Itoje, who also came off the bench, grabbed the final try.

Prior to this meeting, England had won eight of their nine games with Fiji – most recently winning 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

That one defeat came at Twickenham two months prior to the tournament in France and was a major turning point under Borthwick.

With Fiji on a five-match winning run – their equal best streak since 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be competitive.

Following slick phase play, number eight Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before Cowan-Dickie forced his way over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere’s try off the back of a maul adding a quick response.

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

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

England pulled away from Australia last Saturday in the final quarter through the power of their bench that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting XV from the win over the Wallabies did grab the next score as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was making his international comeback after tearing his Achilles tendon against Italy in March.

However, after a smart line-out move was finished by Ikanivere, Borthwick unloaded five of his bench on the 54th minute – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Tom Curry.

With the game still in the balance, Fiji scrum-half Kuruvoli lost control of the ball when stretching for the tryline to cancel out replacement George’s try.

Flanker Ben Earl, a try-scorer against Australia, produced a stunning try-saving tackle to maintain breathing room between the sides.

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

Arundell’s pace to race on to a Marcus Smith kick down the left flank showcased exactly why England’s bench is so impactful. The Bath speedster celebrated in style after racing past Bristol centre Kalaveti Ravouvou to touch down.

It is full of stars and quality, which has helped secure victories in the final quarter that were lost against Australia and the All Blacks last autumn.

Given Scotland ran New Zealand close, Borthwick’s side will fancy their chances of making a big statement next week.

England head coach Steve Borthwick told BBC Radio 5 Live: “The players deserve enormous credit for the resilience they show in these games. Having the composure, fitness and the strength off the bench in the final quarter is really important.

“I think the team has developed and grown today. They understand each other a bit more and that is part of the evolution of the team. What we need to do is keep learning.

“Fiji are a talented team that play some incredible rugby. The players were excited about today and you can see the impact Fiji had on us with the talent and physical challenge they bring.

Fiji head coach Mick Byrne, speaking to BBC Sport about the try his side had disallowed when they trailed 26-18 during the second half:

“I think we did good work in the lead-up and it didn’t look like he lost control. It would have been a nice try to score.

“I am not sure if we would have won the game, but it would have kept the momentum going our way. But that is just the way it has gone.

“Full credit to England and Steve [Borthwick] for what they have done in the last 20 minutes.

“We are making the progress that we need to be making, moving forward to the 2027 World Cup.

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

Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)

Assistant referee: Luc Ramos (France) and Katsuki Furuse (Japan)