England vs the Fijian Squad – Fall International Rugby Preview

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 which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November surpasses the results from 2024, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan serving as the conclusion in the last 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. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, 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 often find it tough in encounters with England. 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 remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.