England vs the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Overview
Game Coverage
Introduction
Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative and it’s started OK for him. Their initial victory against Australia this November is already better than 2024, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
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 often find it tough in encounters with England. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.
England is perhaps the top team globally when it comes to defeating sides they are expected to beat; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.
