The English Team vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Match Analysis

Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And now, precipitation has commenced.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and the beginning has been favorable for him. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.

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. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, 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 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, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.