| Dhaka, Friday, 26 April 2024

England 35-11 Fiji

Update : 2015-09-19 10:12:06
England 35-11 Fiji

England were made to work hard by Fiji in their World Cup opener but pulled away in the last 20 minutes to secure a bonus-point win at Twickenham.

Two tries from full-back Mike Brown and the impact of a superior set of replacements saw Stuart Lancaster's men home despite a disjointed display.

Had the Fijians landed their kicks a tense contest could have been significantly tighter still.
England's next match is against Wales at the same venue next Saturday.

And despite a stuttering opening display, England have a platform on which to build as they seek to win the Webb-Ellis trophy for the first time in 12 years.
Reasons for concern

It was a match too often dominated by the television match official, meaning an atmosphere that rocked Twickenham in the early exchanges was punctured by long and frequent delays.

Rain before the start also checked both sides' ambitions, following an opening ceremony featuring Prince Harry, Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson that had lit the fuse.

England will also be concerned by the number of penalties they gave away and the amount of problems their powerful opponents caused them at the breakdown and scrum.

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