The English Team v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Preview

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture with a decent start already under his belt. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series surpasses the results from 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan as the full stop in the final week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.

It’s a much changed England team from last week, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, they have historically faced challenges in this matchup. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.

England is perhaps the top team globally when it comes to defeating sides they are expected to beat; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.