The English Team vs Fiji – Fall International Rugby Overview
Game Coverage
Preamble
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 that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and it’s started OK for him. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan as the full stop in the final week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn 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. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
It’s a much changed England team from last week, and considering the talent present in the Fijian team, this might appear overconfident from Borthwick. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.
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.
