11-try England overpower Fiji in Nations Championship
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England produced a dominant display to beat Fiji 8-73 at Hill Dickinson Stadium in the second round of the Nations Championship.
Match report
England were first to score, an early period of scrum dominance providing the perfect platform for fly half Fin Smith, who produced a clever dink into the corner that Marcus Smith did well to latch on to after the ball ricocheted off the corner flag.
Fiji quickly responded with a long-range penalty, but England soon regained momentum through a powerful maul try steered over by skipper George.
Fiji No 8 Levani Botia was then shown yellow for coming over the top of the ruck and England capitalised on the numerical advantage, Pepper driving over out wide for his first Test try.
With the Fijian scrum creaking in Botia’s absence, England began to turn the screw, and before long Janse van Rensburg crashed over to score with his first touch of the ball.
His centre counterpart Atkinson snuck in for a score just before the break, and with an impressive 100% record off the tee for Smith in the first half, England trotted into the tunnel with a comfortable 3-35 lead.
Fiji would also have to play the rest of the game with 14 men after scrumhalf Simione Kuruvoli received a red card for foul play.
Despite this setback, it was the Fijians who opened the scoring in the second half, hooker Tevita Ikanivere piling over for his side’s first try.
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— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) July 11, 2026
After a TMO check, the England winger is awarded a brilliant score in the corner before Fin Smith nails the touchline conversion#VMSport #NationsChampionship #FIJvENG pic.twitter.com/eTmUGpGun7
England responded with two spectacular tries of their own, with Feyi-Waboso pulling off an outstanding diving finish despite the challenge of Salesi Rayasi and Pollock showing his pace to surge into the dead ball area and dot down at full stretch.
Slade was next over the whitewash after receiving a selfless inside ball from Noah Caluori, the 19-year-old having joined the field of play just moments before.
The youngster’s eyes seemed to light up as he streaked down the right wing with a man to beat, but he showed admirable composure to release Slade who was in space.
The Saracens man was rewarded for his patience moments later as he crossed for a try on debut, receiving the ball on the wing and marking the score with a trademark dive in the corner.
The game opened up even more in the closing stages, Pollock carving in for his second from 40 meters out before adding a third to finish the game.
