England v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series 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, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And now, precipitation has commenced.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and it’s started OK for him. 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 as the full stop in the final week. Considerable discussion occurred during the post-series slump that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, 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 providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, 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 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; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.