England Earns 9th Consecutive Victory Against Physical 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 scored four second-half tries to beat a tough Fiji side in their second autumn international.

This win extends the English team's undefeated streak to nine games and backs up their triumph over the Wallabies the previous weekend.

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

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

Prop Genge and the Fijian hooker then traded scores to begin an thrilling second half.

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

These tries came around Fijian halfback Kuruvoli fumbling the ball when attempting to score.

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

Borthwick's side now meet New Zealand next Saturday in their toughest test theoretically this autumn.

Before this encounter, England had claimed victory in 8 of their nine matches with the Fijian side – most lately winning a close contest in the quarter-finals of the last global tournament.

That one defeat came two months prior the tournament 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 1999 – the fixture was always likely to be hard-fought.

Following smooth attacking phases, back rower Chandler Cunningham-South made good ground before the hooker barged over for the opening score from close range, with Ikanivere's try off the back of a maul providing a quick response.

Nicknamed the Flying Fijians, that was clear in defence through powerful first-half tackles in the center, with full-back Smith, deployed as a additional playmaker, in especial picked out.

But it was the vintage attacking Fijian flare that was the highlight in the first forty as offloads sliced through the English defense for the fly-half to score.

Feyi-Waboso sharply finished a cross-field kick by Fin Smith to take England 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 the Wallabies last Saturday in the final quarter through the power of their replacements that contained six British and Irish Lions.

A much-changed starting lineup from the win over the Wallabies did grab the following touchdown as Genge crossed following a powerful run by Ollie Lawrence, who was returning to the national side after suffering his Achilles versus the Italians in spring.

However, after a smart line-out move was finished by the Fijian, the coach unloaded five of his substitutes on the 54-minute mark – including Lions tourists Henry Pollock and Curry.

With the match still up for grabs, Fiji scrum-half the halfback lost control of the ball when reaching for the goal line to negate substitute George's try.

Flanker Earl, who scored versus the Wallabies, produced a stunning game-saving stop to maintain breathing room between the teams.

It capped another all-round impressive display by Earl, who received back-to-back man of the match honors.

The substitute's speed to chase down a kick through showcased exactly why the English replacements is so influential.

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

Considering the Scottish side ran New Zealand close, Borthwick's side will feel confident of making a big statement next week.

If successful, 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)