Match Updates
Match Background
Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, 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 which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative and the beginning has been favorable for him. The first triumph over the Wallabies in the current autumn series surpasses the results from 2024, 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 that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. For 2025, insights have been gained, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.
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. However, even though the Fijians are far from pushovers, 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.
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, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
