England were defeated for the first time by Fiji in a warm-up game at Twickenham six weeks ago, losing 30-22; they’ve since won four from four to top Pool D at the Rugby World Cup in France; Fiji finished second behind Wales in Pool C, shocking Australia 22-15 in the group stage
Billy Vunipola says he’s “quietly confident” that England can gain revenge against Fiji in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final on Sunday and book their place in the final four.
England were defeated for the first time by Fiji in a warm-up game at Twickenham six weeks ago, losing 30-22. And though they suffered a shock loss to Portugal to conclude the group stage, Fiji continued their form into this tournament, pushing Wales close in their opening match and shocking Australia 22-15 on their way to finishing second in Pool C.
England, meanwhile, have won four World Cup games in four since that humbling home loss to Fiji to top Pool D in France, though they closed out the group stage with an edgy 18-17 victory over Samoa.
Sky Sports News’ Eleanor Roper analyses England’s 18-17 win over Samoa and examines the questions facing Steve Borthwick’s side ahead of the quarter-finals
“Quietly confident,” England’s number eight Billy Vunipola told Sky Sports News ahead of Sunday’s quarter-final clash.
“I don’t think the same Fiji that played against Georgia and Portugal is going to be the one that we find this weekend. We’re going to be prepping for the team that we played six weeks ago, the team that played against Wales and [beat] Australia, with all the threats that they bring.
Australia head coach Eddie Jones admits it was his fault for the Wallabies’ loss against Fiji
“Everyone knows that if we lose, we have to go home on Monday, so there’s definitely a bit of edge to training.”
He added: “Now at the pointy end of the competition, we need to be ready. Especially for a big physical team like Fiji.
“Six weeks ago they turned us over and it wasn’t like they beat us at a neutral venue, it was at home. We know what they bring and we’re going to be ready for Sunday.”
After a first Test defeat to Fiji, England head coach Steve Borthwick praised the ‘Flying Fijians’ for their dominant performance
Wigglesworth: Farrell a winner
England will name their starting XV and bench on Friday and the greatest area of intrigue is the fly-half duel between George Ford and Owen Farrell.
Ford was man of the match against Argentina and Japan and is the form No 10, but Farrell is the squad’s captain and talisman.
The two were paired together against Samoa, but they faded as a creative axis amid a poor team performance and the experiment of reviving their partnership could be over.
Attack coach Richard Wigglesworth told the press on Tuesday: “Owen’s a winner. That term gets thrown around quite a bit, but that’s Owen.
“Under the harshest of pressures and biggest of moments, he tends to get better. That is a sign of a winner.
“And he doesn’t just get better, he has more of an impact on the people around him as well.
“We know what gets said about Owen. He’s the highest ever points-scorer for England, delivers time and time again and those players tend to catch the most flak for some reason.
“We’re lucky to have him. He will no doubt have a massive impact on this week and this game.”
Follow England’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against Fiji on Sky Sports’ digital platforms from 3.30pm on Sunday.