The English Team versus Fiji – Fall International Rugby Preview

Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, the English side during fall presents a varied display. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and it’s started OK for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November is already better than 2024, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan as the full stop in the final 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, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous week, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. 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 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, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.