England vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Match Analysis

Much like the silver birches in my neighborhood in autumn, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.

Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and the beginning has been favorable for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November marks an improvement compared to last year, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan as the full stop in the final week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

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. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.

The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.