England vs 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 it’s started raining.

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 is already better than 2024, which included three poor losses and only a basic victory over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. Considerable discussion occurred during the post-series slump regarding how the initial matches against New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa made the schedule overly challenging, where a wave of disappointment followed every weekly outcome. In 2025 lessons have been learned, with the win over the Wallabies followed with today’s outing against Fiji as a chance to consolidate the positive vibes.

The English squad shows many changes compared to last week's selection, which given the class sprinkled throughout the Fiji squad could be be seen as hubris from Borthwick. 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.

The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they hold the distinction of being unbeaten against Italy in the Six Nations, and they seldom fall to lower-tier nations.