Rugby World Cup: England too good for Fiji in Twickenham opener
HOSTS England have shaken off some early nerves to post a bonus point win in their Rugby World Cup opener against Fiji at Twickenham.
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ENGLAND scored a fourth try after the 80th minute to secure a potentially important bonus point in an otherwise unconvincing victory over Fiji in the Rugby World Cup opener.
The gallant Fijians pushed the hosts for the majority of the match at a raucous Twickenham, and only trailed by 10 points deep into the second half.
But tries to fullback Mike Brown in the 71st minute and a barging effort from replacement Billy Vunipola after the siren had sounded, that saw him just scrape the paint, helped England take away an important five-point victory.
With England in a pool of death with Wales and Australia, bonus points could be crucial further down the line in determining which two teams progress to the playoffs.
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If they can handle a short five-day turnaround, Fiji showed at Twickenham they’ll be robust opposition for the Wallabies when the two sides clash in Wales on Thursday morning (AEST).
Their physicality had England rattled for long stretches, and along with pressure at the breakdown and the set-piece, didn’t let them settle into their game until very late.
The hosts turned the ball over 11 times but Fiji, in turn, failed to capitalise with handling errors and poor kicking options.
Indeed, England benefited from Fijian errors to score first half tries and jump out to a lead.
A rolling maul from the home side in the 12th minute turned into a penalty try and a yellow card for halfback Nikola Matawalu.
The English used their extra man to good effect in the 21st minute when a lineout error on their own line from Fiji saw the ball stolen, and spread wide to Brown in space who scored.
Fiji refused to lie down, however, and on the back of a strong scrum that caused England grief all night, Matawalu returned and appeared to score a sizzling 50 metre solo try from the scrumbase.
In a contentious moment, however, referee Jaco Peyper reversed his decision to award a try when a replay on the big screen showed the Fiji halfback had dropped the ball in scoring.
Peyper stopped Volavola from taking his conversion and sent the decision to the TMO, who disallowed the try.
The fact Nadolo scored a minute later softened the blow, however, with the Brisbane-born star leaping through the air from a beautifully weighted Volavola cross kick.
The second half saw England continue to struggle to kick away, and they were helped by wayward goalkicking from the Fijians, who could have narrowed the gap and brought on more pressure.
England’s reserves made a difference, however.
Owen Farrell helped set up Brown’s second try, and in a solid 20-minute cameo, Sam Burgess used a nice offload to get Brown into space right on fulltime.
Vunipola’s try came after that but again it was a tight call.
The TMO awarded the try after sighting one angle that showed a light touch on the line.
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Originally published as Rugby World Cup: England too good for Fiji in Twickenham opener
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