The English Team v the Fijian Squad – Fall International Rugby 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, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place that you must spend weeks clearing up in a foul mood. And now, precipitation has commenced.

England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario with a decent start already under his belt. 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 acting as the final note in the closing 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, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. For 2025, insights have been gained, 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, and considering the talent present in the Fijian team, this might appear overconfident from Borthwick. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, they have historically faced challenges in this matchup. 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 remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.