The English Team vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Preview

Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, the English side during fall presents a varied display. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, 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.

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 marks an improvement compared to last year, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Considerable discussion occurred during the post-series slump that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s 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.

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 have historically faced challenges in this matchup. 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, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.