England versus Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Match Analysis
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Preamble
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, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture with a decent start already under his belt. 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. There was extensive talk following the series downturn that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, 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 as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
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. 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; for instance, they are the sole team never beaten by Italy in the Six Nations, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.
