The English Team versus the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview
Match Updates
Match Background
Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining.
Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and it’s started OK for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan as the full stop in the final week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.
It’s a much changed England team from last week, which given the class sprinkled throughout the Fiji squad could be be seen as hubris from Borthwick. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.
England is perhaps the top team globally when it comes to defeating sides they are expected to beat; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
