The English Team v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview

Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, 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.

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 surpasses the results from 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan serving as the conclusion in the last week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise 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. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous 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 often find it tough in encounters with England. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.

England is perhaps the top team globally when it comes to defeating sides they are expected to beat; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.