England vs the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Overview

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, the English side during fall presents a varied display. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.

Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November marks an improvement compared to last year, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan serving as the conclusion in the last week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise 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 as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

It’s a much changed England team from last week, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they often find it tough in encounters with England. 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 hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.