Fiji defeat England for first time to send World Cup warning
England have lost five of past six games under Steve Borthwick.
Fiji players celebrate on the final whistle during the pre-2023 World Cup warm-up rugby union match between England and Fiji at Twickenham Stadium. Picture: Ian Kington / AFP
Fiji beat England for the first time with a 30-22 victory in a Rugby World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Pacific islanders fully deserved their win in a match where both teams scored three tries, with this reverse meaning England head to the World Cup in France on a run of five defeats in six matches.
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Fiji were 12 points ahead early in the second half and although England closed to within a point, the visitors pulled clear with a try seven minutes from time by replacement Simione Kuruvoli.
England desperately needed a win ahead of a tough Pool D World Cup opener against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
Fiji, meanwhile will be in buoyant mood in the run-up to a World Cup they begin against Wales — the team they knocked out of the 2007 edition in France — in Bordeaux on September 10.
