The English Team versus the Fijian Squad – Autumn Nations Series Preview
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Similar to the silver birches around my home during this season, England in the autumn are a mixed offering. How lovely they can look due to the changes and natural developments, prior to the unavoidable decline that leaves chaos in its wake which requires weeks of cleanup amid frustration. And it’s started raining.
England's coach Steve Borthwick aims to transform this scenario and the beginning has been favorable for him. Their initial victory against Australia this November marks an improvement compared to last year, when three miserable losses were punctuated by a bog-standard win over Japan acting as the final note in the closing week. There was extensive talk following the series downturn that facing NZ, Australia, and Springboks first created an excessively tough start, and a trend of unhappiness trailed each match result. This year, valuable lessons have been absorbed, with the success against the Wallabies leading into the current match with Fiji offering an opportunity to reinforce the good feelings.
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. But, while the islanders are no mugs by any measure, they often find it tough in encounters with England. Their lone win in nine tests against today's rivals came during the 2023 World Cup warm-ups.
England are also arguably the best team in the world at despatching teams they should not struggle against; they remain the only side undefeated by Italy in the Six Nations for example, and rarely lose to tier two opponents.
