Clouds in the sunshine for England
England swept aside Fiji 58-15 to extend their triumphant run to 12 Tests, but the defensive frailties evident will have concerned head coach Eddie Jones.
Nine tries were amassed in the second autumn international with Jonathan Joseph, Semesa Rokoduguni and Joe Launchbury crossing twice and with less than half an hour on the clock England had surged 34-0 ahead.
A passive Fijian defence waved them through at every opportunity, but either side of half time it became the hosts’ turn to crumble as Nemani Nadolo, Leone Nakarawa and Metuisela Talebula plundered soft tries.
Owen Farrell became only the second England player to pass the 500-point mark with his haul of four conversions and a penalty on his 45th Test appearance lifting him to 508, in pursuit of Jonny Wilkinson’s 1,179. The other England tries came from Elliot Daly, Teimana Harrison and Alex Goode. Jones’ winning run now reads a perfect 12 matches, but in Argentina and Australia there are far tougher challenges to come, South Africa having been over-run 37-21 last Saturday.
Daly emerged as the star of England’s victory, celebrating his second Test start by proving he is as comfortable on the wing as at outside centre with a brilliantly-taken try.
The jury remains out on Rokoduguni, the Bath flier looking sharp in attack but leaving question marks over his defence.