The English Team v Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview

Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. Their appeal stems from transformations and natural progress, before the inevitable atrophying dumps of loads of mess all over the place 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 the beginning has been favorable for him. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November is already better than 2024, a period featuring three dismal defeats interrupted by a routine win against Japan serving as the conclusion in the last week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn 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 win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.

It’s a much changed England team from last 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 often find it tough in encounters with England. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games.

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.