FULL-TIME, ENGLAND 30-24 FIJI. Beautiful scenes as the England players offer their consolations to their opponents… the Fiji players down on their knees and backs, crushed to have taken England so far but only to lose at the last turn. It was a great match, enthralling, dramatic and just superbly entertaining. England deserve to go through and will offer a stronger semi-final opponent most likely… but for Fiji and millions and millions of neutrals it's heart-breaking for the islanders to come so close and miss out. What could have been if they got through. But they entertained us and pushed England to the limit and have written a new chapter in their history. England are looking strong but have two massive matches ahead it they want to reclaim "their" trophy". Oh my oh my, this World Cup is not for the faint-hearted! Great to have you with us for this incredible quarter-final… hope you enjoy the rest of the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
DISASTER FOR FIJI… the referee awards a penalty to England… the Fiji captain is distraught and walks away from the referee while he tries to explain his decision, but the Fiji captain doesn't want to hear. Farrell kicks it into touch and England are through. Heartbreak for Fiji who weren't the better team but who never gave up and scored some superb tries.
The kick to touch is just short of the England 10, but Fiji claim the ball eventually, and run the line…
…YES! The replay shows a deliberate knock-on so Fiji get lucky and have a penalty to kick for touch.
… Fiji lose the ball but was that a deliberate knock-on from England?
… long pass to the wing, tackles fly in, pass right and then go blindside… now right…
… they run out left, ruck, and run right, then back left…
… ball out the scrum and Fiji drive into the England line but are brought down… they feed the line and drive at England…
The sides are scrumming 7m from the England 10m line… Fiji to feed…
PENALTY, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 30-24; Slotted with ease and Fiji need a try and a conversion to take the semi-final spot… in just over a minute!
England kick up the line to clear the danger from the scrum… Fiji have lineout ahead of the England 10m… Fiji run superbly but ENGLAND intercept and drive down into the Fiji 22 with a blistering run from Earl who was eventually brought down with a armless tackle, and England have a penalty inside the 22 a foot and an eyelash to the left of the posts…
The scrum collapses and the ref calls for a do-over… but the sands are running out for Fiji…
Fiji have a lineout, it bounces out to England and they win a scrum for the knock-on.
DROP KICK, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 27-24; Superb pressure from England who drive on and on… they're pressing the Fiji 5m… but the ball is fed back to Farrell inside the 22 and in front of poles and he slots a game-changing drop-kick! Super play from England. What do Fiji have in response?
CONVERSION, FIJI, KURUVOLI! 24-24; Kuruvoli levels the score with a good conversion to the left of the poles. What a comeback from Fiji!
TRY, FIJI, BOITUTU! 24-22; Fiji get a penalty that hits the post… but they manage to win the ball back, there's some superb interplay and passing and Botitu gets the ball and dives over for the score. BRILLIANT FIJI!
CONVERSION, FIJI, KURUVOLI! 24-17; The conversion is slotted superbly from the left. A converted try and we'll have extra time!
TRY, FIJI, RAVAI! 24-15; The ball is fed to Ravai from the Ruck and he drives through and over the line for a great score. What a comeback from Fiji!
Fiji drive hard up into the England 22, superb running and passing; the balls flies out wide to Nayacalevu, who pushes into a mass of England players before being pulled to ground…
But now England concede a free kick and Fiji kick to touch just short of the England 10m.
Fiji are penalised for swinging the scrum and England clear to the Fiji 10m where they will have the lineout.
Fiji drive into the England 22 but give away possession and England will feed the scrum.
Good refereeing… he gets them to shake after nothing too terrible happened onfield, although a hard-liner might have gone to his pocket.
Farrell's kick is from 10m in from touch and on the 10m… but it's just short and Fiji counter up to past the 22m and win a penalty, but there are some pushes and shoves from both sides and the TMO is going to offer some assistance…
The ball is kicked into Fiji hands and they counter, but England win a penalty on the Fiji 10m for obstruction. Farrell will run the clock down by going for posts…
Fiji catch a break by being awarded a lineout just inside their 10m… they run the line and drive hard against England… before kicking over the top and England counter from their 22m…
PENALTY, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 24-10; No problem for Farrell to slot that kick.
England win a lineout near the 22 and drive hard to the line, Fiji conceding a penalty and it's just to the right of the posts and inside the 22…
Great running from Fiji but the possession breaks down and England counter, only for Fiji to win the lineout… but it's a turnover and now England are on the attack…
… but Fiji win the ball back and counter hard at England, passing fast and beautifully, and England suddenly look a little ragged, Fiji winning a penalty.
Fiji fail to clear effectively and England are on the counter-attack…
England win the lineout, push hard for the line but Fiji hold up strong and win a penalty for pulling jerseys… so Fiji can clear a really dangerous position.
Both scrumhalves loft balls over the top, England then drive hard to the Fiji far right corner but good hands clear the danger for Fiji, only for England to push up back into the 22m where England win a penalty and kick to touch on the 5m…
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the second half of England against Fiji… nnd we look to be in for one hell of a finish to this quarter-final clash.
HALF-TIME, ENGLAND 21-10! England have been dominating much of the and look strong favourites to see this match out without too much concern… but Fiji have shown a lot of fight as well as plenty of inventiveness on attack. If Fiji can keep the defence extra strong then there's every chance we could be in for a breath-taking second half… and we'll have the action for you shortly!
Fiji drive up into the England half and into the 22m… but they are penalised again and England clear the danger.
PENALTY, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 21-0; Farrell slots his kick from 15 metres to the right of the poles and between the 22m and 10m.
Fiji run the line and drive hard at England, but English complete their tackles and bring the man down… Fiji keep the ball and run it wide, there's a maul and Fiji are penalised again!
PENALTY, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 18-10; Fiji concede a penalty need their 22 and 15 metre to the right, which is no problem for Farrell who turns it into a two-score game. Habosi returns to action, so it's 15-v15 again. What a quarter-final we are witnessing.
England drive hard at Fiji, trying to take advantage of last few minutes with a man advantage… the yellow has NOT been upgraded. England drive to the wing but the Fiji defence pick the man up and drive him over the touchline… and there's a little bit of dust rising as the handbags start flying, but Fiji win another morale-boosting advantage.
CONVERSION, FIJI, BOTITU! 15-10; The conversion is nailed and it's a one-score game! This is what you want in your quarter-final!
TRY, FIJI, MATA! 15-8; Mata drives over for the score after some superb work from Fiji to go over for the try despite being a man down. Superb play from the islanders.
Fiji earn a penalty but it's missed…
CONVERSION, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 15-3; No problem for Farrell from 15 metres to the left of poles.
YELLOW CARD, FIJI, HABOSI! Fiji lose a man for a head contact during the build up to that try, although it seemed quite accidental. but Vinaya Habosi is off and the yellow is being reviewed for an upgrade…
TRY, ENGLAND, MARCH! 13-3; March goes over after some superb play by England and great running from himself, as well as strong defence by Fiji, but unable to keep resisting.
England drive HARD at Fiji, but Fiji hold them back on the left side, they drive them to under the poles but are held back…
PENALTY, FIJI, LUMANI! 8-3; Lumani opens the scoring with a penalty from almost in front of poles on the 22m.
Fiji banging away at England again, drive into their 22m and win a penalty for a tackle with no arms.
NO! The penalty hits the far left post and bounces down the right post and back into play… millimetres away from being Fiji's opening score.
Fiji drive hard from the kick-off, putting England under and win a penalty on the right 15m in from touch…
The conversion from the left touchline is unsuccessful.
TRY, ENGLAND, TUILAGI! 14! 8-0; England drive their scrum and quickly feed the line, the ball goes left to Tuilagi who breaks through a tackle, goes to ground but twists and turns before slamming the ball down over the line for England's opening try!
England win another penalty from the start and the ball is kicked into touch near the Fiji 5m…
PENALTY, ENGLAND, FARRELL! 3-0; Smashed through the poles from right in front for England to open the scoring.
England drive hard at Fiji and move play down to the left win close to the 5m… but Fiji are penalised for the high tackle and England will go for posts from him front of poles.
Fiji run the ball well and are on the England 10m…long ball to the wing to Radradra who drives hard… but the ball goes into a ruck and England win a penalty which is cleared into the Fiji half.
Fiji win the ball and run at England, Botitu running into a gap and flicking a clever pass backwards but it was too adventurous… England win the scrum near the halfway… run the ball, Fiji draw them to ground and WIN THE PENALTY. Superb recovery from Fiji.
England kick to clear, Fiji feed the line and Botitu lofts a kick into the England 22 but it's marked and cleared well into touch.
England win the line but Fiji claim great turnover ball in the ruck, run the line and flyhalf Botitu kicks to the far touch and it's an England lineout 10m from their tryline.
Penalty is for Fiji, they clear the danger, collect the ball and drive up right but are bundled into touch. Lineout England…
England with a good, driving start, there' a kick over the top into the Fiji 22 and England drive into the 22… but PENALTY!
KICK-OFF! We're underway with the third quarter-final… it's ENGLAND against FIJI!
Our referee today is Mathieu Raynal of France. He will be assisted by Nic Berry (Australia), and Pierre Brousset (France). Our TMO is Ben Whitehouse (Wales).
Fiji: 15 Ilaisa Droasese, 14 Vinaya Habosi, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (captain), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Vilimoni Botitu, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 5 Albert Tuisue, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Luke Tagi, 2 Tevita Ikanivere, 1 Eroni Mawi. Replacements: 16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Meli Derenalagi, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simione Kuruvoli, 22 Iosefo Masi, 23 Sireli Maqala.
England: 15 Marcus Smith, 14 Jonny May, 13 Joe Marchant, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Alex Mitchell, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Ollie Chessum, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge. Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
The winner of today's quarter-final clash will have the honour (and challenge) of a semi-final berth against either hosts France or defending champions South Africa, who play their quarter-final later this evening.
Fiji kicked-off with a narrow 32-26 loss to Wales, but followed this up with a 15-22 win over Australia. Next they held off a strong assault from Georgia to win 17-12. They lost their final match against Portugal 23-24, which was Portugal's first-ever World Cup win. Fiji picked up a bonus point for finishing within seven points of Portugal, and it was that point that ensured they finished level with Australia.
Fiji finished in 2nd place in Pool C, winning two of their four matches. They finished with 11 points, equal with Australia, but Fiji went through because they won their pool match against Australia. Their points tally was 88-83.
England started with a hard-fought 27-10 win over Argentina, and followed it up with a 34-12 win over Japan. Next came Chile, who were dispatched 71-0 in the first-ever Test between the two nations. They then squeaked home 18-17 against Samoa.
England topped Pool D with four wins from four matches. They picked up 18 points, with a match points difference of 150-39.
The two teams have only met five times in the last 24 years, with all matches being played at Twickenham. England won the first of those five matches 45-24 (1999), 54-12 (1012), 35-11 (2015) and 58-15 (2016). Their most recent meeting was in August 2023, when Fiji beat England 30-22, their first-ever win over England.
The two teams have met just twice in the Rugby World Cup, both matches played at Twickenham in London. In 1999, England won the quarter-final play-off matches 45-24. In their pool encounter in 2015, England won 35-11.
This is Fiji's first World Cup quarter-final for 16 years, and only the second time they have met England in a knock-out game. This is their first KO encounter against England since the 1999 quarterfinal play-offs.
The two teams have met up eight times in Tests, Fiji winning once and England claiming seven wins.
Prior to 2023, Fiji had played in 32 World Cup matches, winning 11 and losing 21. Their points tally is 732-971.
They qualified for the quarter-final playoffs in 1999, where they lost 45-24 to England at Twickenham. They failed to make it out of the pool stage in their other five World Cups.
Fiji have played in eight of the previous nine Rugby World Cups, failing to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 1995. They made the quarter-finals in 1987 and 2007.
England are currently ranked in 6th place in the World Rugby rankings. Their opponents today, Fiji, are in 10th place in the rankings.
Prior to 2023, England had played 50 World Cup matches, winning 36 and losing 14 matches. Their points tally is 1569-783.
England have lost in the final on three occasions in total (1991, 2007 & 2019). They have only been knocked out in the semi-final on one occasion (2007) and three times they have lost in the quarter-final (1987, 1999 & 2011). The 2015 World Cup was the only time they failed to make it out of the pool stage.
England have taken part in all nine previous Rugby World Cups. They were the champions in 2003 and lost to South Africa in the last World Cup final.
Good afternoon, and welcome to the third quarter-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The action takes place at Stade de Marseille in Marseille, France… and the actors are England and Fiji. And we're bringing it to you LIVE!