England Defeat Fiji in Nations Championship Round Two
Liverpool, England
Fiji’s Nations Championship campaign suffered a setback on Saturday as sixth-ranked England produced a clinical performance to record a 73-8 victory over the ninth-ranked Flying Fijians at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Playing in front of a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators on a hot afternoon in Liverpool, England responded strongly after recent defeats, capitalizing on their opportunities and Fiji’s ill-discipline to claim their first win of the tournament.
The result continues England’s recent success over Fiji, with the two nations having built an increasingly competitive rivalry over the past decade following memorable meetings at the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.
While Fiji has proven it can challenge and defeat Tier One opposition in recent years, England’s experience and execution proved decisive on this occasion.
England opened the scoring through Marcus Smith inside the opening five minutes before Caleb Muntz reduced the deficit with a penalty. The visitors, however, controlled territory and possession through a dominant set-piece, adding first-half tries to Jamie George, Guy Pepper, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Seb Atkinson to establish a 35-3 lead at the break.
Fiji’s task became even more difficult after Levani Botia received a yellow card late in the first half before Simione Kuruvoli was shown a red card shortly after, forcing the Flying Fijians to play with 14 men for the remainder of the contest.
Despite the numerical disadvantage, captain Tevita Ikanivere gave Fiji supporters something to celebrate, crashing over for the side’s only try early in the second half. England, however, maintained their intensity, adding further tries through Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Pollock (three), Henry Slade and Noah Caluori to seal the result.
Statistically, Fiji showed encouraging signs in several key areas despite the scoreline. The Flying Fijians won all five of their lineouts and posted an 89 percent scrum success rate, compared with England’s 82 percent. Both teams also recorded an identical 97 percent ruck success rate, while Fiji continued to showcase their traditional attacking flair with 10 offloads to England’s four.
The match was ultimately decided by discipline and field position. Fiji conceded 12 penalties, seven inside their own half and were forced to make 103 tackles, missing 33 as England carried 103 times for 551 meters. The red card and sustained defensive workload allowed England to build momentum throughout the second half.
England fly-half Fin Smith, named Player of the Match, praised his side’s response after recent criticism.
“We wanted to get our year back on track. Playing for England should be the greatest honour of your life, and we wanted to enjoy it this week. Credit to the forwards; the dominance they created allowed us to play with freedom.”
Fiji captain Tevita Ikanivere accepted responsibility for the performance while immediately turning attention to the team’s next challenge.
“We’re quite disappointed with the outcome. We didn’t do the basics well, gave England too much ball, and the yellow card and red card didn’t help us. It’s done now we’ll look ourselves in the mirror, get better and focus on next week.”
Ikanivere also acknowledged the strong support from the Fijian community in the United Kingdom.
“The support was great. It’s the biggest home crowd for Fiji so far, and we’re thankful to everyone who came out. We enjoyed playing in front of them.”
After two rounds of the inaugural Nations Championship, Fiji remains in contention in the Southern Hemisphere conference, with one pool match remaining against Scotland next weekend. England, competing in the Northern Hemisphere conference, earned an important victory to revive its campaign before travelling to face Argentina.
While the scoreline will disappoint the Flying Fijians and their supporters, the focus now shifts quickly to Scotland. With another round next weekend in pool play, Fiji has an immediate opportunity to respond, demonstrate the resilience that has become a hallmark of Fijian rugby, and finish this opening phase on a positive note.
The Flying Fijians will be determined to produce a performance that reflects their potential and rewards the passionate support of Fijians around the world as they prepare for next weekend’s crucial encounter.
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Nations Championship Round 2
FIJI 8 ENGLAND 73
Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
SATURDAY 11th July
REFEEREE: Hollie Davidson
HALF TIME: 3-35
FIJI (1-15): Eroni Mawi (Livai Natave 54), Tevita Ikanivere (capt) (Sam Matavesi 60), Mesake Doge (Peni Ravai 54), Tevita Ratuva (Temo Mayanavanua 40), Isoa Nasilasila, Peceli Yato (Pita-Gus Sowakula 58), Lekima Tagitagivalu, Levani Botia (YELLOW CARD 27) (Elia Canakaivata 53), Simone Kuruvoli (RED CARD), Caleb Muntz, Jiuta Wainiqolo, Josua Tuisova, Kalaveti Ravouvou (Isaia Armstrong-Ravula 60), Vuate Karawalevu (Frank Lomani 40), Salesi Rayasi
TRIES: Ikanivere
PEN GOAL: Muntz
ENGLAND (1-15): Ellis Genge (Asher Opoku-Fordjour 48), Jamie George (capt) (Luke Cowan-Dickie 48), Joe Heyes (George Kloska 54), Alex Coles, George Martin (Henry Pollock 48), Ollie Chessum, Guy Pepper, Ben Earl (Tom Curry 60), Jack van Poorrtvillet (Alex Mitchell 48) (Noah Caluori 57), Fin Smith, Immanuel Feyl-Waboso, Seb Atkinson (Benhard Janse van Rensburg 54), Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith
TRIES: Pollock (3) M Smith, George, Pepper, Rensburg, Atkinson, Feyi-Waboso, Slade, Caluori
CON: F Smith (9)
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Kick Off
5mins – TRY ENGLAND; Marcus Smith; Conversion Smith – 3-7
12mins – PEN GOAL FIJI; Muntz – 3-7
14mins – TRY ENGLAND, Jamie George; Conversion Smith – 3-14
27mins – TRY ENGLAND, Pepper; Conversion Smith – 3-21
27mins – YELLOW CARD FIJI Levani Botia
34mins – TRY ENGLAND, Janse van Rensburg; Conversion Smith – 3-28
37mins – TRY ENGLAND, Seb Atkinson; Conversion Smith – 3-35
46mins – RED CARD FIJI, Simione Kuruvoli
HALF-TIME 3-35
47mins – TRY FIJI, Ikanivere; Conversion Muntz (missed) – 8-35
53mins – TRY ENGLAND, Feyl-Waboso; Conversion Fin – 8-42
54mins – TRY ENGLAND; Pollock; Conversion Smith (missed) – 8-47
59mins – TRY ENGLAND, Slade; Conversion Smith – 8-54
64mins – TRY ENGLAND Caluori, Conversion Smith (missed) – 8-59
67mins – TRY ENGLAND Pollock; Conversion Smith – 8-66
79mins – TRY ENGALND Pollock; Conversion Smith – 8- 73
FULL TIME – FIJI 8 ENGLAND 73