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England beat Fiji 30 -24 in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals at Stade Velodrome in Marseille last Sunday, Oct. 15.
The English thus qualified for the last four and will take on South Africa in the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup next Saturday. It is going to be a repeat of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final that took place on French soil itself.
England were the dominant team against Fiji for the majority of the first half, but the latter rallied in the second half to make it a close contest.
However, Steve Borthwick’s team are the only unbeaten team left in the competition and will fancy their chances of winning the whole thing.
On that note, let us take a look at two reasons why England won the Rugby World Cup match.
Why England beat Fiji in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals
#1. England attacking through the left and scoring tries in the first half
England attacked a lot through the tightside on the left after having territorial dominance, with left winger Johnny May taking part in a number of attacks.
The English attacked the Fijian 22 quite frequently and notched up a couple of tries in the first half itself. Centres Manu Tuilagi and Joe Marchant scored a try each to put England ahead by a big margin.
Moreover, the Fijians were not disciplined enough while defending, as they gave away penalties by obstructing off the ball and then being in an offside position in the first half. England, meanwhile, were a lot better defensively and Maro Itoje held firm in the line-outs.
#2. Owen Farrell coming up with a kicking masterclass
To make the situation worse for them, the Fijians failed to convert a couple of relatively easy penalties in the first half itself. They then missed another penalty in the second half.
In comparison, Owen Farrell was his usual clinical self and kept converting penalties whenever he had a chance. Farrell contributed 20 points to his side’s total with five penalties, one conversion and a drop goal.
England thus took a big 24-10 lead at half time, and Fiji were always going to find the deficit too big to overcome.
However, they bounced back strongly by scoring a couple of tries to level the score at 24-24. A late Farrell dropgoal then sealed the deal for England, as England managed to regain the lead and hold on to it thereafter.
Farrell’s kicking performance will give the English a lot of confidence ahead of their semifinal clash with the Springboks.
