Share

England hammer Fiji in London

Cape Town - England kept their winning run going with a big 58-15 win over Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday.

The win means that England have now gone 11 games unbeaten and have won every game under Eddie Jones. Fiji who were trying make up for a 40-7 clobbering at the hands of the Barbarians last weekend continue their losing run.

England were rampant in the first half scoring five tries through Semesa Rokoduguni, Jonathan Joseph, Elliot Daly, Joe Launchbury and Teimana Harrison. Fiji though remained spirited throughout as star winger Nemani Nadolo and second-row Leone Nakarawa both scored in the last ten minutes of the second half to finish the first chukka 34-10.

The English were relentless with their attack as they used every opportunity wonderfully, after scoring a number of tries through the counter attack as well as utilising the driving maul well. Despite the large scoreline, Fiji impressed on attack throughout the game, even to the last minute as they displayed eletric, running rugby.

England drew first blood when they found themselves sending it wide from the base of a centre field ruck, and they beat the Fiji defence for Joseph to go over in the corner.

The home side then got their second try of the match after they turned the ball over and kicked into the Fiji half, where it came off a Fiji hand and bounced straight into Rokoduguni who took the ball to ground before the ball was spread wide to Daly, who calmly drifted past a defender to score.

England scored their third try when they used an interesting line out move that saw Dylan Hartley float the ball over the lineout for Billy Vunipola to collect, who then swung it to his brother Mako who, through his crash ball, bundled up the defence. The ball was recycled quickly and given wide to Rokoduguni who scored.

Harrison then grabbed himself a five pointer in this try-fest when England used their maul well to bulldoze over the Fijian line to score a try. Shortly afterwards the home side get a maul on the 22-metre line and roll forward before Launchbury rumbled over.

Fiji then etched their name into the score sheet when they relentlessly pounded at the English line until the home side looked quite depleted. Fiji sent it wide quickly and Nadolo scored. The visitors then dotted down again in quick succession after they camped out on the England line before the ball was given short to the Nakarawa who dummied before falling over the line.

The Fijians kept their momentum going into the second half as they rumbled upfield through their forwards before swinging wide to Metuisela Talebula who broke the line through some clever foot work scored the five-pointer.

England full-back Alex Goode then got his name onto the score sheet when England score another after another electric run up field from Rokoduguni who was tackled just short of the line. England then recycled quickly and sent it wide for Goode to score. Joseph then got his second try after a long Fiji pass was skillfully intercepted by the centre.

The last twenty minutes was quieter from the dominant hosts but they did manage to score two more through Rokoduguni and Launchbury who both completed their own braces

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
How much would you be prepared to pay for a ticket to watch the Springboks play against the All Blacks at Ellis Park or Cape Town Stadium this year?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
R0 - R200
33% - 1817 votes
R200 - R500
32% - 1777 votes
R500 - R800
19% - 1083 votes
R800 - R1500
8% - 460 votes
R1500 - R2500
3% - 187 votes
I'd pay anything! It's the Boks v All Blacks!
5% - 254 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE