The English Team vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview

Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, 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 surpasses the results from 2024, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Considerable discussion occurred during the post-series slump regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.

It’s a much changed England team from last 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 are perennial strugglers in this fixture. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.

The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.