The English Team v Fiji – Fall International Rugby Preview

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.

Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November surpasses the results from 2024, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise 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 success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. 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 hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.