England kick off World Cup campaign with Fiji victory
Last Updated: 19/09/15 3:32pm
England got their World Cup underway with a 35-11 win over Fiji on the opening night at Twickenham.
A pair of tries from Mike Brown as well as a penalty try and eight points from the boot of George Ford set up the victory, while a last-minute score from Billy Vunipola awarded England the bonus point.
Fiji fought for large periods of the match, and with 12 minutes remaining were only seven points down, but did not have the legs as England scored twice in the final ten minutes to secure a more comfortable win than was initially promised.
England enjoyed a near-perfect start to the game, with a scrum penalty that gave George Ford the ideal kick to settle his nerves and give England a 3-0 lead.
His forwards were on hand as a group to gain a penalty try in the 13th minute when a lineout drive was set up near the Fiji line, and when it was collapsed referee Jaco Peyper awarded a try under the poles.
Scrum-half Nikola Matawalu was sent to the sin bin for his part in the infringement which made things very difficult for Fiji.
England took time to make the extra man pay, almost scoring in the right-hand corner through Anthony Watson, but the winger was tackled into touch.
England stole the lineout however, and spread it right, with Brown on the receiving end of the last pass in the other corner, with the Quins full-back crashing over for his first try of the night.
Ford missed the conversion but England were in a healthy position early in the half.
But the try appeared to spark life into Fiji, who broke blind from a scrum through Matawalu, the scrum-half running the length of the field to score. Peyper awarded the try but the TMO called him back to point out a knock on from Matawalu in the act of scoring, forcing Fiji to wait for their first points.
They didn't have to wait too long though, with a turnover at the scrum leading to a high kick into the in goal area from fly-half Ben Volavola, which found Nemani Nadolo, who only needed to catch the ball and dot it down when he landed.
The conversion was missed but Ford and Nadolo traded penalties to make it 18-8 at half-time.
England came out in the second half with more intent to keep the ball in hand with short passes to big forwards, but the Fiji players were equal to the task and tackled for lengthy periods.
Volavola got the second-half scoring underway with a shot at goal, and things were close with the game drawing to a nervy end from an England perspective.
It wasn't until the 68th minute that England scored again, through the boot of replacement fly-half Owen Farrell when Fiji were penalised for entering the ruck from the side.
Mike Brown was next on the board shortly thereafter, taking a pass in front of the line and to make things much more comfortable with a 28-11 lead.
The score gave England breathing room, but with the pool likely to be very closely fought, the bonus points was a necessity for Stuart Lancaster. With no time left on the clock England were bashing the Fiji line and came close to scoring on several occasions.
The ball eventually made its way to Billy Vunipola, who looked to have scored at the death. The referee sent the decision upstairs and after lengthy deliberation the TMO awarded the try that sent Twickenham into mayhem.
England face Wales next in a highly important clash at Twickenham on Saturday, one that will go a long way to shaping the final make-up of Pool A, while Fiji head to Cardiff to take on Australia on Wednesday.
