England v Fiji – Fall International Rugby Overview

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. 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 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 as the full stop in the final week. Much was made amidst the post-series malaise that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

It’s a much changed England team from last week, which, due to the quality in the Fiji roster, could be viewed as arrogance by the coach. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, 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.

The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.