The English Team v the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview
Game Coverage
Match Background
Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture with a decent start already under his belt. Their initial victory against Australia this November is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Considerable discussion occurred during the post-series slump that the opening trio of NZ, Australia and Boks meant the fixtures were front loaded to a fault, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.
England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, and considering the talent present in the Fijian team, this might appear overconfident from Borthwick. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they often find it tough in encounters with England. A win in the 2023 World Cup warm up games their solitary victory in nine tests vs today’s opposition.
England are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.
