MARSEILLE, France (AP) — England ended Fiji’s crowd-pleasing run at the Rugby World Cup with a tense 30-24 win to reach the semifinals for the sixth time on Sunday.
In a welcome result for the northern hemisphere after quarterfinal losses for Ireland and Wales on Saturday, the English countered a second-half fightback by the Flying Fijians as captain Owen Farrell kicked a drop goal and a penalty in the final eight minutes in Marseille.
England will play either host France or defending champion South Africa in the semifinals next weekend.
Trailing 21-10 at halftime, Fiji turned on its attacking flair and crossed for tries through prop Peni Ravai and flyhalf Vilimoni Botitu to tie the scores at 24-24 after 68 minutes.
The Pacific Island nation couldn’t complete the comeback in its bid to become the first tier two team to get to the semifinals since the game went professional after the 1995 World Cup.
___
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
