It was scratchy, sloppy and scattergun at times but England roll into an encounter with New Zealand that will define their November with their winning run still intact. Steve Borthwick and his staff will not necessarily take great heart from an evening against Fiji where more went wrong than right but there can be no greater runway on which to build speed into a collision with the All Blacks than a smooth approach of nine consecutive victories.
Stunned by the Pacific Islanders on Fiji’s last trip to Twickenham, England avoided the ignominy of a repeat defeat that would have dispirited their autumn. A few of those exiting Allianz Stadium at the end many have still felt a degree of frustration, and perhaps familiarity, England’s bench again to the fore to put a hard-fought contest beyond doubt. Word, too, must be extended to Fiji, who have made such strides. If not yet consistently conquering the so-called Tier One nations then they are giving them more than just a fright on a regular basis – a kinder look from lady luck and this game might have turned out differently.
To call this revenge for the 2023 World cup warm-up defeat would suggest that England were cold and calculated in a way they were not, though their excellent depth again told as they finished with a flourish. Watching on with intrigue, perhaps, after their own narrow escape against Scotland at Murrayfield might have been the All Blacks as they prepare to come to Twickenham in a week’s time. While they will expect to face a different home team – one likely piloted by George Ford with Fin Smith struggling to get the attack humming – certainly a slightly disjointed, disrupted performance from England would have pleased them.
The construction of Borthwick’s midfield for New Zealand will be fascinating after a few too many cogs clunking; the pack, too, seemed to miss the quiet authority of Maro Itoje, who helped himself to the last of England’s six tries to again show how the bench has become this side’s trump card.
Indeed, Borthwick’s team had finished so strongly against Australia that it was little wonder they fired out of the blocks. Six minutes had not yet elapsed when Luke Cowan-Dickie converted from close-range following a sustained spell of phases to close an opening routine performed almost entirely in the Fijian 22.
It wasn’t long, though, before the Pacific Islanders, clad in electric blue, sparked into life. It is their ability in unstructured situations that has long made them a real threat but in recent years they have developed significantly with their set-piece and kicking games. That was on show in Tevita Ikanivere’s maul score, which came from a penalty drawn by a contestable kick.
Fly half Caleb Muntz had been outstanding in that Fiji win in 2023 before his World Cup dreams were dashed, cruelly, by injury on the eve of the tournament. Back patrolling the Twickenham turf, he soon picked up where he left out, arcing and orchestrating at the eye of a Fijian storm that blew England off course. A miss pass out to Selestino Ravutaumada gave the wing the limited space he needed to crack the hosts on the edge, and while scrum half Kuruvoli was clattered having chipped ahead, a supporting Muntz was on hand to collect the debris and finish.
A slightly coltish England team had begun eagerly, yet without the accuracy required. Powerful barges from Immanuel Feyi-Waboso and Chandler Cunningham-South got the crowd going but did not amount to much, the latter perhaps guilty of eschewing an overlap to go it alone from a promising position. Amidst English toil, Fiji scrambled, spoiled and snatched English ball superbly. Muntz, errant with the two conversions, soon added a penalty.
Little had gone wrong for Fiji in 36 minutes before an ugly incident in the type of aerial contest now so often crucial to these Tests. Ravutaumada had honest intentions as he went after a box kick, but was beneath and behind Feyi-Waboso as he leapt, sending the catcher spiralling to the floor with an uncomfortable thud. As the England wing spun, so did the half; after play resumed, Fin Smith’s crosskick to a wing left vacant by the sin-binned Ravutaumada was finished off by the man he had clattered moments before.
If Feyi-Waboso’s elasticity had been on display in how quickly he had leapt back into action, it perhaps also saved his opponent from seeing red. Still, though, it wasn’t quite clicking for England – Fraser Dingwall, their “glue guy”, had a few sticky moments, while the Smiths appeared to have a difference of opinion over their outfit’s musical direction.
Unsurprisingly, then, it took something improvised to get England playing in rhythm, as Ben Earl and Ollie Lawrence took advantage of a loose Fijian kick chase to make telling busts. Lawrence was hauled down a metre short, and stand-in captain Genge did the rest. Yet Fiji had an answer, again showing their lineout variety and venom as Ikanivere helped himself to a second after a neatly-worked move at the front.
Only Muntz’s inaccuracy from the tee, with a third conversion missed, kept England ahead. To the bench Borthwick went, sending on five replacements clad in Persil-white shirts together for a second week in succession. They delivered; Jamie George, one of the quintet gleaming under the lights, finished off a lineout drive.
Misfortune befell Fiji when they seemed to have hit back, Kuruvoli adjudged to have fumbled as he slid over, thus allowing England’s replacements to add some sheen. Henry Arundell celebrated his international return with a try crafted from pure pace, retrieving Marcus Smith’s hack ahead like a terrier after a tennis ball, and Itoje made the margin greater still. A fright, but a fright only – England’s power on.
