England vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Preview
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Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, the English side during fall presents a varied display. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And it’s started raining.
Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture with a decent start already under his belt. Their initial victory against Australia this November surpasses the results from 2024, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan as the full stop in the final 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, 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 providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.
It’s a much changed England team from last week, which given the class sprinkled throughout the Fiji squad could be be seen as hubris from Borthwick. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, 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.
The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.
