England v the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Overview
Match Updates
Preamble
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, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. 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 that the opening trio of NZ, Australia and Boks meant the fixtures were front loaded to a fault, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with 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. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they have historically faced challenges in this matchup. 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.
