🔗 Share this article The English Team vs the Fijian Squad – Fall International Rugby Overview Live Feed Preamble Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. 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 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. 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. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with 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. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they have historically faced challenges in this matchup. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups. 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 rarely lose to tier two opponents.
Preamble Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. 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 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. 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. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with 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. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they have historically faced challenges in this matchup. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups. 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 rarely lose to tier two opponents.