©Steve Haag
Fiji recorded their first-ever victory over England as they sealed a 30-22 win in the Rugby World Cup warm-up fixture at Twickenham Stadium on Saturday.
This was also England’s fifth defeat in six games as they came up with another disappointing performance in front of 56,854 spectators at the iconic stadium.
England were without skipper Owen Farrell and number eight Billy Vunipola, who were on a suspension while Jack van Poortvliet and Anthony Watson were withdrawn from the 33-man squad due to injuries.
The home side got their first points in the 8th minute when George Ford kicked a penalty goal before Alex Mitchell and Ford combined to send Jonny May over in the left corner for the first try to make it 8-0.
As the rain began to our, both the teams were desperate for breakthroughs before Caleb Muntz kicked a three-pointer of his own in the 17th minute to reduce the arrears to five points. Fiji thought they scored their first try as Waisea Nayacalevu touched down but was ruled out due to a forward pass.
With the break approaching, Fiji were down to 14 players temporarily with Eroni Mawi sin-binned for an infringement at breakdown as the teams completed the opening half with a 8-3 scoreline.
Fiji made a brisk start to the second half as Nayacalevu collected an inside pass from Selestino Ravutaumada to dot down and Muntz improved it to make it 8-10. With the momentum on their side, Fiji stepped up their lead as Vinaya Habosi picked up the ball from the base of a ruck to cross over.
Muntz was once again spot on with the conversion and a penalty goal to extend the lead to 8-20 before Marcus Smith coming in for an experimental fullback position made an impact after collecting a chip from Ford, who landed the conversion to reduce the gap down to five points.
Muntz extended Fiji’s lead again after England were penalised for a high shot making it 15-23 before Joe Marchant’s try helped the gap come down to just one point heading into the final 10 minutes of the game. As the game was heading for a tight finish, Simione Kuruvoli dived from close range to ensure Fiji completed a historic win.
Team line up:
England: Steward; Malins, Lawrence, Tuilagi, May; Ford, Mitchell; Genge, Dan, Cole, Itoje, Chessum, Lawes (c), Willis, Earl.
Reserves: Walker, Marler, Stuart, Ribbans, Ludlam, Care, Smith, Marchant.
Fiji: Droasese; Ravutaumada, Nayacalevu (c), Radradra, Habosi; Muntz, Lomani; Mawi, Matavesi, Tagi, Nasilasila, Cirikidaveta, Tuisue, Tagitagivalu, Mata.
Reserves: Togiatama, Koroiduadua, Tawake, Mayanavanua, Miramira, Kuruvoli, Tela, Ravouvou.
