England versus the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview

Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, the English side during fall presents a varied display. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.

England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario with a decent start already under his belt. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series is already better than 2024, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan serving as the conclusion in the last week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise 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 providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

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 have historically faced challenges in this matchup. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.

The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.