🔗 Share this article The English Team vs Fiji – Fall International Rugby Preview Game Coverage Preamble Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and it’s started OK for him. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series marks an improvement compared to last year, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that the opening trio of NZ, Australia and Boks meant the fixtures were front loaded to a fault, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. 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. England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, which given the class sprinkled throughout the Fiji squad could be be seen as hubris from Borthwick. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, 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. England are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
Preamble Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and it’s started OK for him. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series marks an improvement compared to last year, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that the opening trio of NZ, Australia and Boks meant the fixtures were front loaded to a fault, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. 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. England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, which given the class sprinkled throughout the Fiji squad could be be seen as hubris from Borthwick. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, 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. England are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.