The English Team v the Fijian Squad – Fall International Rugby Overview
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Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.
Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative and it’s started OK for him. Their initial victory against Australia this November is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn 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, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
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. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. 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; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
