The English Team v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Match Analysis
Game Coverage
Match Background
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 which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and it’s started OK for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan acting as the final note in the closing 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, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s 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.
The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, and considering the talent present in the Fijian team, this might appear overconfident from Borthwick. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, 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; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
