England v Fiji, 18 September

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ENGLAND v FIJI
18 September 2015
KO: 20:00 BST
Twickenham, London

Live on ITV and BBC Radio 5 live

Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Touch judges: John Lacey (Ireland) & Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

A. Head to Head

5 Played 5
5 Won 0
0 Drawn 0
0 Lost 5
210 Points 83

B. Recent Form

10 November 2012
England 54 - 12 Fiji
Twickenham

20 October 1999
England 45 - 24 Fiji
Twickenham

20 July 1991
Fiji 12 - 28 England
National Stadium, Suva

04 November 1989
England 58 - 23 Fiji
Twickenham

17 June 1988
Fiji 12 - 25 England
National Stadium, Suva

C. Teams

ENGLAND

Mike Brown (Harlequins); Anthony Watson (Bath Rugby), Jonathan Joseph (Bath Rugby), Brad Barritt (Saracens), Jonny May (Gloucester Rugby); George Ford (Bath Rugby); Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers); Joe Marler (Harlequins), Tom Youngs (Leicester Tigers), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Geoff Parling (Exeter Chiefs), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Tom Wood (Northampton Saints), Chris Robshaw (capt, Harlequins), Ben Morgan (Gloucester Rugby).

Replacements: Rob Webber (Bath Rugby), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Kieran Brookes (Northampton Saints), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Richard Wigglesworth (Saracens), Owen Farrell (Saracens), Sam Burgess (Bath Rugby).

FIJI

1. Campese Ma’afu
2. Sunia Koto
3. Manasa Saulo
4. Apisalome Ratuniyarawa
5. Leone Nakarawa
6. Dominiko Waqaniburotu
7. Akapusi Qera (Captain)
8. Sakiusa Masi Matadigo

9. Nikola Matawalu
10. Ben Volavola
11. Nemani Nadolo
12. Gabiriele Lovobalavu
13. Vereniki Goneva
14. Waisea Nayacalevu
15. Metuisela Talebula

16. Tuapati Talemaitoga
17. Peni Ravai
18. Isei Colati
19. Tevita Cavubati
20. Peceli Yato
21. Nemia Kenatale
22. Joshua Matavesi
23. Aseli Tikoirotuma

Wi11 wrote:

Fanster wrote:
I expect a wild and reckless first 20 from Fiji, and England have to be carefull they don't concede points early on, the last thing you want to do is to be playing catch up to this counter attacking backline!

I expect a big start from England too. I think the first 20 is actually pretty crucial here - if England can make some inroads and build an early lead it will shake Fiji's belief and we could see a diminished challenge from them thereafter. On the other hand if Fiji take an early lead they will place huge pressure on a relatively inexperienced England team.

I just hope the game isn't ruined by excessive nerves. If both teams come to the party then we can be certain it will be entertaining.

I think thats what England should do, but I don't expect them out of the gates particularly aggressively, I think there'll be a 5/10 minute stutter as everyone gets to grips with the occasion.

Hope Fords kicking radar is working otherwise England may struggle to build a lead, you just know Fiji are going to play above themselves for 60+ mins and score a try or two. hopefully England can keep their cool and pull away in the last 20mins.

I hope England have got the measure of Peyper from the warm-ups and can keep the breakdown under control without conceding penalties. Barritt, Wood and Robshaw will have a big job to do defensively, and the kick chase will need to be good.

That said, I would expect England to have an edge in the last 20. Even if Fiji's tails are up, they're unlikely to have the stamina to keep their defensive line tight enough and gaps will appear. England will probably need Billy V to have a significantly better game to make the most of it though.

George Carlin wrote:

Wi11 wrote:Summary of the Fijian XV, for those not familiar:

- The tight five, with the exception of the brilliant Nakarawa (best attacking lock in the world?), mostly play in the French second division, or at a similar level elsewhere. Some of them have nonetheless accumulated plenty of international experience, due to Fiji's limited options here.

- The back row are all experienced and strong Top 14 players, this is a good area for Fiji. The younger Peceli Yato on the bench may turn out to be the best of the lot.

- There's some stardust in the halfbacks - Matawalu needs no introduction for Pro 12 followers and is a key influence in attack. Volavola is an exciting talent who is lined up to replace Carter at the Crusaders next year. Matavesi is a solid bench option who might come on at 10 or 12.

- The outside backs as you might expect are excellent with Goneva (Jeff), Talebula, Nayacalevu (both Top 14) and Nadolo (Super 15) all prolific tryscorers in top leagues. Of those Nadolo is the standout and arguably the most formidable winger in the world right now.

Despite the less glamorous names in the tight five, Fiji have managed to improve their set pieces considerably in the last year, and now have a good line-out and passable scrum. However defence appears to remain a weakness, both out wide and on the gainline. There are also question marks over stamina / concentration, but I'd be wary of relying on that - I can't imagine their intensity dropping off in the final 20 if they have a genuine chance of winning.

Excellent.

It's a great summary. The caveat I would add on Nakarawa at lock is that whilst a lethal attacking force, his offloads can just as easily land his team in hot water as he deploys them at every opportunity, regardless of the field position or match situation. Glasgow fans will be familiar with him catching a kick-off and forcing a speculative offload from within his own 22. It can worth out brilliantly, but a fair number of knock-ons have stemmed from his ultra-attacking approach.

I would mark a same note of caution on Matawalu. He will tap absolutely every penalty he gets his hands on, and whilst he can carve teams up with that approach, he can also get isolated and squander points on offer.

England should be very prepared for both, and make sure that there's a player "back 10" able to close down Matawalu, and forwards ready to shut out or capitalise from Nakarawa's offloading. You just know he'll get the ball away, so you need players able to anticipate it.

Can we talk about Burgess yet?

i will be there from 6.30pm. very excited. have to go have a drink now to calm my nerves...lol.

england to win by a lot. winning well by half time, then piling on the points second half.

Should be a good game and a nice clash of styles. I expect Fiji will score a couple of tries just by the sheer brilliance of their players but will also cough up some ball. England should be able to control the setpiece - but will they be able to control the game? Will they be able to outscore Fiji? I think the professional experience of the Fiji players will stand them in better stead than in the past and I think this will be much closer than many expect. England might be a bit nervy, Fiji know its a chance for glory. England to win - but not by much and I wouldn't bet my house on it.

Despite all the doom and gloom England are a decent team.

Fiji are a few absolutely brilliant players and a few not so much. Cohesion will be better for the time they have spent together but it really shouldn't be enough

intersting stats I saw from the recent few 6N - england have been scoring more tries but also letting more in. What is the best approach for England in this game - keep it tight nd structured which is a gameplan they have moved away from or go for a wider game which both England and Fiji are more comfortable with? I think its an interesting tactical conundrum for them

Does anyone know why jerry yanuyanutawa is not playing? I guess it means they have other good props as while he is not the best he does OK for Glasgow

TJ wrote:Should be a good game and a nice clash of styles.  I expect Fiji will score a couple of tries just by the sheer brilliance of their players but will also cough up some ball.  England should be able to control the setpiece - but will they be able to control the game?  Will they be able to outscore Fiji?  I think the professional experience of the Fiji players will stand them in better stead than in the past and I think this will be much closer than many expect.  England might be a bit nervy, Fiji know its a chance for glory.  England to win - but not by much and I wouldn't bet my house on it.

I'm in a similar mind frame, England could find this hard work, with a tails up Fijian team off the back of a championship and with nothing to lose.

I don't see them winning, but I have a fiver on it just in case my gut was right.

If we are focused and play sensibly then we should win this comfortably.

England should win pretty comfortably,you've a strong team out but I think the bookies handicap of 26 points is a bit too much.They obviously do this for a living but I think 18 would be a more realistic number.

This is one hell of a pool,Fiji would have a real shout of qualifying from any of the other pools but they'll do well to get 3rd in this one.

Structure will be England's friend.

I expect to see them slow it down for 40 minutes with a lot of kicking and up the middle stuff.

Then cut loose late when the Fijians are knackered.

I can't imagine England will suffer nerves at home on this occasion.

TJ wrote:intersting stats I saw from the recent few 6N - england have been scoring more tries but also letting more in.  What is the best approach for England in this game - keep it tight nd structured which is a gameplan they have moved away from or go for a wider game which both England and Fiji are more comfortable with?  I think its an interesting tactical conundrum for them

England played a tight pick and drive with short offloading for the first 30 mins against Ireland and were hugely effective. Far more than I have been giving them credit for, Ben Morgan wasn't going crazy just using his mass making short gains - even Lawes etc was actually doing it. And then when it was on they spun it wide.

If they play like that for the 80...I really don't think Fiji will be able to stay with England at all.

The problem was we moved away from that and Ireland came right back in to the game.
If we allow that to happen, I think Fiji would be far more dangerous in an open, disjointed game than that Ireland team and England might find themselves stretched.

Not sure why folk think england will be significantly fitter? The Fijians are pro players nowadays. Big Naka and Mad McMata never showed any signs of being unfit playing for Glasgow - if anything the opposite - always full of running

TJ wrote:Not sure why folk think england will be significantly fitter?  The Fijians are pro players nowadays.  Big Naka and Mad McMata never showed any signs of being unfit playing for Glasgow - if anything the opposite - always full of running

They will be fitter because we have the money to throw at a bunch of experts to look at every aspect of what our players are doing and tailor the conditioning to them and to what they need to do. If you threw the same amount of money and experts at Fiji you'd make them fitter too.

Its not just the straight conditioning. There is an article on the telegraph website about how May is working with Marlon Devonish to improve speed, acceleration and efficiency of running.

Anyone know why Timoci Nagusa (currently top try scorer in the top 14) isn't in the Fijian side? He usually always made himself available for international matches.

lostinwales wrote:

TJ wrote:Not sure why folk think england will be significantly fitter?  The Fijians are pro players nowadays.  Big Naka and Mad McMata never showed any signs of being unfit playing for Glasgow - if anything the opposite - always full of running

They will be fitter because we have the money to throw at a bunch of experts to look at every aspect of what our players are doing and tailor the conditioning to them and to what they need to do. If you threw the same amount of money and experts at Fiji you'd make them fitter too.

Its not just the straight conditioning. There is an article on the telegraph website about how May is working with Marlon Devonish to improve speed, acceleration and efficiency of running.

But the Fiji players are also professional players and will the time spent in the international squad really make much differnce to fitness? The Fijians pride themselves on speed and athletisism. One bet I would take is Fiji will not run out of gas before England - infact I would bet it the other way simply beacuse many of the england squad are artificially bulked up beyond their natural bulk wheras the fijians are not. I rerally do not think there will be a disparity it fitness that is at all significant

england are clearly fitter than a bunch of top14 and D2 players by virtue of the nature of the leagues.

however it will be englands intensity all over the park, attacking threat combined with tight discipline, and desire which will make the scoreline wide. i'd bet a lot on england winning with a bonus point.

quinsforever wrote:england are clearly fitter than a bunch of top14 and D2 players by virtue of the nature of the leagues.

however it will be englands intensity all over the park, attacking threat combined with tight discipline, and desire which will make the scoreline wide. i'd bet a lot on england winning with a bonus point.

Love it

The worst thing England could do is take Fiji for "Granted" and think that the game is in the bag for the first ball as been kicked.

quinsforever wrote:england are clearly fitter than a bunch of top14 and D2 players by virtue of the nature of the leagues.

however it will be englands intensity all over the park, attacking threat combined with tight discipline, and desire which will make the scoreline wide. i'd bet a lot on england winning with a bonus point.

Clearly fitter? Really? Why? Big Naka and Mad McMata never looked unfit - indeed always full of running. Organisation and discipline should see England to a comfortable victory but fitness?

TJ wrote:

quinsforever wrote:england are clearly fitter than a bunch of top14 and D2 players by virtue of the nature of the leagues.

however it will be englands intensity all over the park, attacking threat combined with tight discipline, and desire which will make the scoreline wide. i'd bet a lot on england winning with a bonus point.

Clearly fitter?  Really?  Why?   Big Naka and Mad McMata never looked unfit - indeed always full of running.  Organisation and discipline should see England to a comfortable victory but fitness?

Although I agree with you TJ, man for man the best of Fiji should be as conditioned as the English, but there are a number of factors why Fiji as a team will tire earlier than England as a team...

1) your considering the very best and highest level of the Fijian team, if you look at the majority of the tight 5 they are not Naka and Niko quality, there is a big drop off in ability and shape, when considering the English tight 5 who are, to a man each a big Naka type player. Englands 8 will be a better 8 than Fiji's over 60, after 60 they will be signficantly better looking.

2) The effects of gameplan, style and pressure on a player. Even if we consider that Fiji to a man are as conditioned as England to a man, Englands superior skillset, discipline and cohesion will pressure the Fijians into a position where they are expending more energy per minute than the English. Fiji will make less passes per minute of posession, and carry more per minute of possesion than England, they will find gaps through less efficient energy expenditure than England will, and therefore tire earlier.

3) The effect of gameday stressors. Again if we consider that man for man Fiji are as conditioned as England, Englands superior ability to manage players and the all important stressors of match day, energy expenditre before the warm up has even began will be less for England. Familiarity with the squad, the stadium, the local area, the food, the fans, not to mentions Englands squad having access to extremely high quality support staff will all aid Englands ability to stay relaxed until they need to not be relaxed.
There are studies in numerous sports regarding nerves, and unfamiliarity with all sorts of things effecting match performance (albeit nothing in Rugby to my knowledge), and a particular study (sorry can't find it right now) which researches the effects 'bad news' being told to a playing squad 5 hours before tip off (basketball) effecting the power output and energy usage of players.

Fairy snuff Fanster. Sounds reasonable. What will be the effect on the england players of chasing the Fijians all over thre pitch when Fiji have the ball? - they will not be used to that. England need to control possession

Again anyone know whet Jerry Yanuyanutowa is not playing? a pro 12 prop not good enough? they must have confidence in their other props

TJ, much as Jerry Yanuynutawa has made real progress at Glasgow (especially in his ball carrying) and is popular with the fans he is not an automatic starter. Shrek, Bane, the Mighty Coo and Angela were really the first choice props last season. Even the Bokkie nonce was higher up the pecking order. Jerry must have been close to the squad but possibly the fact that he wasn't starting too often went against him.

Mind you, Fiji are starting today with a prop whose first name is Campese and a hooker called Sonia. Did they do that just to upset England?

Scottish bias aside: I feel that an upset tonight would really kick start the tournament. Mon the Fijians, especially the WegianFijians.

TJ wrote:Fairy snuff Fanster.  Sounds reasonable.  What will be the effect on the england players of chasing the Fijians all over thre pitch when Fiji have the ball? - they will not be used to that.  England need to control possession

Again anyone know whet Jerry Yanuyanutowa is not playing?  a pro 12 prop not good enough?  they must have confidence in their other props

Oh we have learned how to deal with big wingers. Maybe not quite as big as Nadolo But we get plenty of practice playing our western neighbours and they don't seem to get much out of using their big guys any more

TJ wrote:Fairy snuff Fanster.  Sounds reasonable.  What will be the effect on the england players of chasing the Fijians all over thre pitch when Fiji have the ball? - they will not be used to that.  England need to control possession

This isn't 7s, you know. England have faced Pacific Island opposition plenty of times (and also face them in the AP and European Cup). As above, better sides have better structure and are more efficient. Headless chicken 7s rugby doesn't equate to XVs as we so often see.

I don't think Fiji will play headless chicken rugby.  I think the european / antipodean experience of their players will temper this.  Matowalo certainly learnt a lot at Glasgow and in his last year there was not quite so mad.  Put it this way - I am very glad we have Samoa not Fiji in our group

TJ wrote:I don't think Fiji will play headless chicken rugby.  I think the european / antipodean experience of their players will temper this.  Matowalo certainly learnt a lot at Glasgow and in his last year there was not quite so mad.  Put it this way - I am very glad we have Samoa not Fiji in our group

Well reading on here when Matawalu went to Bath it felt very much like thanks for some fantastic memories but its not the end of the world. People didnt sound too upset about him going. Seems like he is still capable of playing at both extremes.

We say the same things again and again. The best Fijians are fantastic, but they are still a minority in their team. And this is a good England team. Nerves may be an issue but it could be just as tiring for the Fijians to try and run down May and Watson all day as the other way around.

I think Samoa are a far stronger team than Fiji overall, looking at the squad they've got they'll be a challenge at the set piece and have the solid halfbacks to give the dangerous runners a platform

I think England and most of the top level sides are sufficiently stronger than the Fijians in these areas to prevent their runners.

But its not won on paper, so lets see!

Again Lost - fair enough. Its a game I am looking forward to and while its unlikely perhaps that Fiji beat England I think they will be very disappointed not to beat one of the big 3 in the group. for a 4th round pick they are a very strong team

George Carlin wrote:

BamBam wrote:Thanks for the thread GC .. I must ask who the lovely vision of Fiji is?!

Yes, I love her - Nalini Krishan - actress doing well for herself.

Every time I come on to this thread I get distracted for a few seconds and lose my train of thought, can't think why

Very good odds for Fiji - evens for Fiji to win with a 25 point head start!

RDW_Scotland wrote:Very good odds for Fiji - evens for Fiji to win with a 25 point head start!

The bookies don't let their hearts run their heads like some Scottish/Fiji fans on here

lostinwales wrote:
Its not just the straight conditioning. There is an article on the telegraph website about how May is working with Marlon Devonish to improve speed, acceleration and efficiency of running.

...and by the looks of May's new physique good old Marlon must have passed on quite a few of the top sprinters tips ...

Tommy Bowe should hire him too

BamBam wrote:Tommy Bowe should hire him too

Well, atm, a zimmer frame would improve Bowe's acceleration.

England will wrap up the bonus point and will end up clear winners by around 20 points. Im not sure why people think it will even be close? Sure, Fiji have some great individuals but so do England and England have far more set peice dominace than Fiji.

Cyril wrote:

RDW_Scotland wrote:Very good odds for Fiji - evens for Fiji to win with a 25 point head start!

The bookies don't let their hearts run their heads like some Scottish/Fiji fans on here

That's true but they also need to cover costs against the heavy betting in one direction. Rugby is a very deterministic sport but the handicap on this game is quite attractive.

Fiji have had some good results recently against reasonable if not spectacular opponents.

LondonTiger wrote:

BamBam wrote:Tommy Bowe should hire him too

Well, atm, a zimmer frame would improve Bowe's acceleration.

Tommy's been working hard with Rob Hefferman on his speed

Well, I suppose I am supporting Fiji tonight but not with any particular fervour or intent. I just want to see a good game; think it's nearly inevitable that England will win this game, and them winning fairly comfortably is likely. I would really like to see this game be an exciting, open and competitive affair worthy of opening what will hopefully be a wonderful tournament. No neutral watching this wants to see a one-sided affair, so I'm hoping Fiji really bring their A-game and cause England some headaches.

Of course, when you look at some of the tries England scored in the Six Nations its not just the Fijians who bring the flair. Good luck to both teams and here's hoping for a genuinely competitive game.

for notch. Rugby is an entertainment business - please entertain us! I shall be dissapointed if England go for scrum penalties all the time and we don't see two sides attacking each other. whats the spread bet? England by 20 pts seems about right to me but I bet Fiji score some tries.

I wouldn't be disappointed if England do that. Its their World Cup! They have to do what they have to do to win, but I think they will be using that pace in their outside backs and throwing in some backs moves. That has been their MO under Lancaster whenever possible. But what I do want to see is a Fiji side throwing everything at them and causing them problems so we see a genuine contest. Everybody who doesn't have a dog in this fight wants to see a competitive game with two teams in it and the ball given plenty of air.

Will be interesting to see how England play with Peyper reffing again. They struggled initially to get going in the warm ups giving cheap needless pens away so have they learnt from that as we've been caught cold a few times and really shouldn't tonight.

TJ wrote:  for notch.  Rugby is an entertainment business - please entertain us!  I shall be dissapointed if England go for scrum penalties all the time and we don't see two sides attacking each other.  whats the spread bet?  England by 20 pts seems about right to me but I bet Fiji score some tries.

TJ spread from paddy power is 26 pts, seems a bit excessive to but bookies aren't often wrong

Ta.

TJ wrote:Should be a good game and a nice clash of styles.  I expect Fiji will score a couple of tries just by the sheer brilliance of their players but will also cough up some ball.  England should be able to control the setpiece - but will they be able to control the game?  Will they be able to outscore Fiji?  I think the professional experience of the Fiji players will stand them in better stead than in the past and I think this will be much closer than many expect.  England might be a bit nervy, Fiji know its a chance for glory.  England to win - but not by much and I wouldn't bet my house on it.

No PI team has ever beaten even the poorest England side. Fiji will make a game of it, but it will be relatively (in terms of scoreboard if not how the players and fans feel at moments) comfortable

Would love to make sure we don't give Nadolo any ball in TOO much space though...

This will be a very interesting World Cup from England's perspective - they finally have a group of exciting young backs who are as dangerous as anyone else. Ford, Joseph, Watson, May and Brown - with more coming through the ranks. The real challenge will be making this backline click, and getting proper balance in the pack. If England can sort that out, they will be very, very hard to stop.