England 38-18 Fiji: England bench saves the day against a spirited Fiji

BY JON PAGE

Strong carries from Ollie Lawrence and Chandler Cunningham-South punctured the Fijian line, before Luke Cowan-Dickie crashed over from close range. Fin Smith added the extras to make it 7-0 in just under seven minutes.

Freeman blocked the path to a high ball, gifting Fiji a penalty inside the England half. Muntz landed the kick to touch 10 metres out, and Fijian captain Tevita Ikanivere crashed over from a rumbling maul, but Muntz failed to add the extras.

There were already some devastating collisions on both sides, with Fijian midfielders Josua Tuisova and Kalaveti Ravouvou smashing anything wearing a white jersey, and Alex Coles putting in a commendable hit on Fijian fullback Rayasi.

Selestino Ravutaumada made a strong carry down the left flank before offloading to former All Black and Fiji debutant Pita Gus Sowakula, who in turn passed to scrum-half Simione Kurovoli. Kurovoli chipped ahead but was tackled by Marcus Smith. Muntz chased, gathered the kick, and managed to stretch out to score Fiji’s second try of the evening. Muntz missed the conversion, but the Flying Fijians took the lead.

Coles, playing at 9, conceded a penalty in front of the posts, which Muntz duly slotted for his first successful kick of the day. Minutes later, Ravutaumada clearly took Immanuel Feyi-Waboso out in the air and received a yellow card without hesitation. After multiple phases in the Fijian 22, Fin Smith launched a crossfield kick. Feyi-Waboso regathered the ball after a bounce to score England’s second try. Smith nailed the conversion from the left touchline, giving England a 14-13 lead with a minute of the half remaining.

The second half began as a stop-start affair, punctuated by penalties against Feyi-Waboso and Cowan-Dickie. Tommy Freeman fielded a bouncing ball by the touchline, and slick interplay with himself, Ben Earl, and Fin Smith put Ollie Lawrence into space. Lawrence was hauled down five metres out, and after Alex Mitchell was stopped short, captain Ellis Genge powered onto the ball and crashed over for a try in the 50th minute. Smith converted to make the score 21-13.

Moments later, Fiji dummied a lineout maul and the ball was fed to Ikanivere on the touchline, who went over for his second try of the day shortly after throwing the ball in. Muntz missed the conversion from wide out.

England brought on five forwards off the bench, injecting even more pace into the game. Tuisova was then yellow-carded after multiple team infringements, including a tackle off the ball and an offside. England’s rolling maul from the ensuing kick to touch steamrolled the Fijian pack, and Jamie George came away with the try, though Fin Smith missed the conversion from out wide.

A crossfield kick from Fiji bounced into Marcus Smith’s hands, who immediately grubber-kicked ahead. Out of nowhere, Henry Arundell chased and surged past two Fijian players to score with his first England touch in two years. Smith was unable to convert.

England found their rhythm, and just minutes after entering the fray, Maro Itoje burst over from the back of a ruck to score England’s sixth and final try. Fin Smith slotted the conversion from the left, making the final score 38-18 in favour of England.

ENGLAND 38
Tries: 6 (Cowan-Dickie 7’, Feyi-Waboso 38’, Genge 50’, George 61’, Arundell 70’, Itoje 75’)
Conversions: 4 (F. Smith 7’, 39’, 51’, 76’)
Penalties: 0
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 0
Red Cards: 0

Starting XV:
15. Marcus Smith
14. Tommy Freeman
13. Ollie Lawrence
12. Fraser Dingwall
11. Immanuel Feyi-Waboso
10. Fin Smith
9. Alex Mitchell

Replacements:
16. Jamie George
17. Fin Baxter
18. Asher Opoku-Fordjour
19. Maro Itoje (Co-captain)
20. Tom Curry
21. Henry Pollock
22. Ben Spencer
23. Henry Arundell

FIJI 18
Tries: 3 (Ikanivere 11’, 53’, Muntz 22’)
Conversions: 0
Penalties: 1 (Muntz 30’)
Drop Goals: 0
Yellow Cards: 2 (Ravutaumada 35’, Tuisova 59’)
Red Cards: 0