England v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Preview
Match Updates
Preamble
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, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario with a decent start already under his belt. Their initial victory against Australia this November surpasses the results from 2024, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, 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 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. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, 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 are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.
