The English Team versus the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview

Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. 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. Their initial victory against Australia this November is already better than 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 regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

It’s a much changed England team from last week, 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 have historically faced challenges in this matchup. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.

England are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.