🔗 Share this article England v Fiji – Fall International Rugby Overview Match Updates Match Background Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, the English side during fall presents a varied display. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and it’s started OK for him. 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 as the full stop in the final 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, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus 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. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games. The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
Match Background Like the silver birches near my house at this time of year, the English side during fall presents a varied display. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake demanding extensive tidying efforts while feeling irritable. And it’s started raining. Steve Borthwick will powerfully wish to change this picture and it’s started OK for him. 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 as the full stop in the final 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, with a momentum of misery accompanying each week’s result. In 2025 lessons have been learned, as the victory over Australia is now followed by today's game versus 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. Yet, despite the island nation's undeniable skill, they are perennial strugglers in this fixture. Only one victory in nine matches versus England occurred in the 2023 World Cup preparatory games. The English side is widely regarded as the most efficient in dispatching opponents they ought to overcome easily; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.