England v Fiji - Autumn International

In their second Autumn International, England romped to a comprehensive victory against an always tough Fiji side at Twickenham.

Contents

RESILIENT RED ROSES RUN RIOT
BUILDING MOMENTUM
MATCH DETAILS

RESILIENT RED ROSES RUN RIOT

England extended their scintillating recent record of results to nine consecutive victories with an impressive destruction of Fiji.

There was a raucous party atmosphere under the Saturday night lights in their second Autumn International, as the hosts took to the pitch looking to impress again after an eye-catching win over Australia a week earlier.

England Head Coach Steve Borthwick’s side secured the result, scoring four second-half tries to end any hope of a Fiji comeback and continue their now considerable momentum as a cohesive and intimidating unit.

England opened the scoring with a well-worked move finished off by Luke Cowan-Dickie before Fiji found a strong response, battling back with tries from Tevita Ikanivere and Caleb Muntz.

The visitors missed a golden opportunity to capitalise, with fly-half Muntz missing both resulting conversions. However, he then composed himself with a perfectly executed penalty to take Fiji clear on the scoreboard before Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed the try line for England to end an entertaining first half.

After the break, Ellis Genge and Ikanivere traded scores for both teams, sparking the contest back to life.

A formidable asset for this England team is the squad’s strength in depth and options off the bench, with carefully deployed substitutes delivering a tide-turning impact once again in the second half after five forwards were rolled on with the score at 21-18.

Replacements Jamie George and Henry Arundell, the latter demonstrating scintillating pace and electric running power, then each finished off tries to take the hosts clear.

Both tries came either side of Fiji scrum-half Simi Kuruvoli illegally spilling the ball when attempting to score.

England captain Maro Itoje, who was also used to great effect from the bench, grabbed the final try of the game to cap another handsome win.

Fiji were reduced to 14 players twice throughout the contest, as winger Selestino Ravutaumada and centre Josua Tuisova were confined to the sin-bin – missing key moments which saw England score crucial points to set them up for victory, costing the visitors dearly.

BUILDING MOMENTUM

Prior to this fixture, England had prevailed in eight of their nine meetings with Fiji – most recently a gruelling knockout game which they won 30-24 in the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.

The one defeat in this impressive run came at Twickenham two months prior to the tournament and proved a major turning point for Borthwick and his squad, galvanising the players and coaches into the now formidable unit that has defined the last two years of English rugby.

However, with Fiji on a five-match winning streak coming into the game – their equal best since 1999 – the match was always guaranteed to be competitive and deliver a highlight reel of quality from both sides.

Borthwick made seven changes to the starting lineup that faced Australia the weekend prior, and the Head Coach now has the embarrassment of riches required to chop and change his team and specific style depending on opposition, and what tactical approach he chooses to employ.

As such, England knew Fiji would look to run the ball from deep and kick long, which the hosts decided to match directly, selecting Marcus and Fin Smith to provide a crucial double pivot option when in possession.

Borthwick’s team will now face New Zealand a week later in their toughest test yet this autumn, promising to be a ferocious contest and a further barometer of the strength of the resurgent Red Roses.