The Sports World Baby Flying Fijians endured a tough 48-11 defeat to England in their second match of the U20 World Cup at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa.
Following a 57-7 loss to hosts South Africa in their opening game, the Fijians were aiming for better results in this contest.
England’s win was propelled by tries from James Isaacs, James Halliwell, Angus Hall (2), Henry Pollock, Toby Cousins (2), and Kane James, combined with eight points from Ben Coen. Fiji’s points were scored by Isikeli Basiyalo and Benjamin Naivalu.
The match began with Fiji’s Ebernezer Tuidraki being sin-binned in the first minute, yet Fiji opened the scoring through a Basiyalo penalty.
England responded by kicking to the corner and utilizing their maul, with Isaacs scoring the opening try, followed by a successful conversion by Coen.
With Fiji restored to 15 players, Halliwell powered through from just inside the Fijian 22 to score, and Coen added the extras, giving England a 14-3 lead.
Halliwell quickly tapped and sent Hall down the wing to score his debut try. England secured their bonus-point try when Cousins broke through on halfway and connected with Pollock, who displayed determination to score, with Coen converting.
Pollock and Cousins teamed up again as Pollock passed to Cousins, who chipped ahead from 40 metres out and collected his own kick to score England’s fifth try.
Basiyalo added another penalty, but Hall intercepted on halfway and dashed to the corner, extending England’s lead to 36-6 at halftime.
Early in the second half, Harvey Cuckson was yellow-carded, but James scored off the back of a five-metre scrum. Coen’s conversion extended the lead to 43-6.
In the Fijians’ 22, England moved the ball wide off another five-metre scrum, enabling Josh Bellamy to find Cousins in the corner for his second try.
Despite a late yellow card for James, Fiji’s Naivalu breached the English defense to conclude the scoring at 48-11.