The English Team v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Preview
Match Updates
Introduction
Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. 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.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan as the full stop in the final week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.
The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, and considering the talent present in the Fijian team, this might appear overconfident from Borthwick. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. 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; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.
