England v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview

Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. 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 demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.

England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and the beginning has been favorable for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November marks an improvement compared to last year, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against 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, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. 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.

England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, 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 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, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.