The English Team vs the Fijian Squad – 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, 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.

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 marks an improvement compared to last year, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan serving as the conclusion in the last 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, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. For 2025, insights have been gained, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.

The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they often find it tough in encounters with England. A win in the 2023 World Cup warm up games their solitary victory in nine tests vs today’s opposition.

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, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.