Replacement Owen Farrell relieved pressure from a spirited Fiji in the second half, the Saracen kicking an important penalty, but Vunipola ensured a flawless night for England with a fourth try at the death.
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The “Wear the Rose” initiative, has been started by England Rugby’s sponsor O2 and features Mike and other key England players growing into giants, with every fan that cheers them on.
In a first half punctuated by deferrals to the Television Match Official, England scored a penalty try, Brown crossed and George Ford kicked 11 points.
Brown, who won his 40th worldwide cap in the tournament opener at Twickenham, has been a mainstay of the England team under Stuart Lancaster.
It was a big occasion and there were a few nerves. “I think the boys handled it well. we are in a happy place”.
“Nothing concerned us (about the performance) but after that initial five or ten minutes when we weren’t as emotional, we got into our stride a bit”.
“Some of the guys from the bench really put their hands up and we have some big decisions for next week against Wales”, said Lancaster, who has eight days to recalibrate his players before facing their neighbours back at Twickenham.
“We’ll watch the game again, meet on Sunday and narrow down our selection next week”.
England captain Chris Robshaw blamed the “emotion” of the World Cup for the jittery start, but insisted Fiji deserved “credit”.
“It is all or bust for us and for Wales“, Catt said. We need to improve there’s no doubt about that.
The damp conditions did little to help the spectacle, with both teams dogged by handling errors.
Nothing special about that return, but he has scored them all since the turn of 2014 ” after a stuttering England career that started in 2007 but which saw the 30-year-old miss out on the last World Cup four years ago.
‘If we had been offered a 24 point margin before the match, we would have taken it.
Volavola made no mistake from 30 metres out in front and England’s lead was reduced to 18-11, setting up a potentially nervous final 15 minutes for the home side.
“The crowd against Fiji were incredible”, he said.
“On the next scrum we pretty much went straight through Fiji, so we put it right”.
The TMO, video referee Shaun Veldsman, was central to action throughout, making a series of spot-on calls, but which opened up fresh debate as to its use.
Fiji earned a try shortly after, though.
“They’ll be better for it now they’ve had that game”.
Fiji coach John McKee rued his side’s lack of ruthlessness.
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“So it makes for a better game…” Although they pushed England hard for 70 minutes, ultimately they exhausted at the end and gave away the bonus point.
