England v the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, the English side during fall presents a varied display. 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 demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And now, precipitation has commenced.

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 is already better than 2024, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against 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, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. In 2025 lessons have been learned, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, 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. A win in the 2023 World Cup warm up games their solitary victory in nine tests vs today’s opposition.

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, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.