The English Team v Fiji – Fall International Rugby Preview
Game Coverage
Match Background
Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, the English side during fall presents a varied display. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s 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 that the opening trio of NZ, Australia and Boks meant the fixtures were front loaded to a fault, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.
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 have historically faced challenges in this matchup. A win in the 2023 World Cup warm up games their solitary victory in nine tests vs today’s opposition.
England is perhaps the top team globally when it comes to defeating sides they are expected to beat; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.
