England thrash Fiji 73-8 in Liverpool

Fiji 8-73 England, Liverpool

England ended their five-match losing run with a dominant 73-8 win over 14-man Fiji in the Nations Championship at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool.

Steve Borthwick’s side were in control for most of the contest, using their scrum, maul and defence to put Fiji under constant pressure. England scored heavily in both halves, while Fiji were hurt by indiscipline and the first-half red card shown to scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli.

Smith Gets England Moving

England opened the scoring in unusual fashion in the sixth minute. Fin Smith’s kick towards the corner avoided the chase of Tommy Freeman but struck the corner flag and bounced back infield, allowing Marcus Smith to ground the ball.

Fiji replied with a long-range penalty from Caleb Muntz, but England soon took control through their forwards. Jamie George scored from a powerful rolling maul before Levani Botia was shown a yellow card for cynical play close to his own line.

England immediately made the extra man count. Guy Pepper forced his way over, and Benhard Janse van Rensburg then scored with his first touch on debut after coming on while Henry Slade was undergoing a head injury assessment.

Red Card Hurts Fiji

England added a fifth first-half try when Gus Atkinson collected Jack van Poortvliet’s offload and crossed before the break.

Fiji appeared to have ended the half with a try through Kalaveti Ravouvou, but it was ruled out. Kuruvoli was then shown a permanent red card for kicking out at Ellis Genge, leaving Fiji with 14 players for the rest of the match.

England Pull Clear After Break

The second half became increasingly one-sided as England used their numerical advantage. Fiji did manage their only try through Tevita Ikanivere, but England continued to pile on points.

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso crossed after the interval, while Henry Pollock came off the bench to score a hat-trick. Slade also added a try after returning, and 19-year-old debutant Noah Caluori touched down in the 65th minute.

Pollock completed his treble in the closing seconds as England finished with 11 tries. The win was England’s biggest since their 71-0 victory over Chile at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

England now head to Argentina for the final match of their July tour, where a tougher test is expected.