England vs Fiji – Autumn Nations Series Overview
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Preamble
Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England's autumn performances show a blend of highs and lows. They often appear impressive because of shifts and organic growth, ahead of the certain deterioration that results in widespread disarray which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. Plus, the rain has begun to fall.
Steve Borthwick is determined to alter this narrative with a decent start already under his belt. The opening win over Australia in this year’s November marks an improvement compared to last year, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan as the full stop in the final 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, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji providing a moment to solidify the optimistic atmosphere.
England has fielded a significantly altered lineup from the previous 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 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.
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, with infrequent losses to second-tier teams.
