England vs the Fijian Squad – Fall International Rugby Overview
Game Coverage
Introduction
Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, the English side during fall presents a varied display. 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. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative and it’s started OK for him. 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 as the full stop in the final week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. For 2025, insights have been gained, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus 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. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, 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.
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 rarely lose to tier two opponents.
