The English Team vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview
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Introduction
Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.
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 surpasses the results from 2024, 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 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. In 2025 lessons have been learned, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
It’s a much changed England team from last 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. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.
The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.
