England survive Fiji fright – but improvements required as All Blacks loom

3 hours ago7 min read1 comments

In the crucible of Twickenham, where history is written in mud and sweat, England’s rugby team did not so much soar as survive, scraping past a formidable Fiji side 39-24 in a performance that was less a polished symphony and more a frantic, passionate jazz improvisation. While the scoreboard ultimately reflected a continuation of their nine-match winning streak, the path to that result was littered with the kind of errors that would typically spell disaster against a titan like the All Blacks, who loom next on the horizon.This was not the cold, calculated revenge one might have expected for the haunting 30-22 World Cup warm-up defeat in 2023; instead, it was a testament to resilience, a display of the human spirit’s capacity to wrestle victory from the jaws of chaos. Fiji, clad in electric blue and playing with a fire that has been meticulously stoked through improvements in their set-piece and tactical kicking, were magnificent.They were not merely participants; they were protagonists in a drama that saw their fly-half, Caleb Muntz, orchestrating a storm that repeatedly blew England off their intended course. His try, following up on a scintillating break from Selestino Ravutaumada, was a moment of pure, unscripted brilliance, a reminder that in sport, as in life, talent and heart can level any playing field.The pivotal moment, however, arrived not from a moment of skill but from a moment of peril, when Ravutaumada’s aerial challenge sent Immanuel Feyi-Waboso spiralling to the turf in a sickening fall. The young England wing’s astonishing elasticity in bouncing back was a metaphor for his team’s evening, and his subsequent try from the ensuing advantage was a lesson in turning adversity into opportunity.Yet, for long stretches, England’s machinery clunked and misfired; the midfield of Fraser Dingwall and the Smiths lacked its usual synchronicity, and the pack seemed to feel the absent, quiet authority of Maro Itoje. It was, as so often in this new era under Steve Borthwick, the bench that provided the catalytic energy, a quintet of replacements including the ever-reliable Jamie George who entered like a white-shirted cavalry to power the team home with late tries, including one for the returning Henry Arundell, who celebrated his international comeback with a try born of pure, predatory pace.The final flourish, capped by Itoje himself, added a sheen that the overall performance perhaps did not deserve, but in sport, the result is the ultimate truth. As the All Blacks watched from afar, fresh from their own narrow escape against Scotland, they will have seen a vulnerable England, but they will also have seen a team that knows how to win even when its best qualities are shrouded in frustration. The true test of character is not winning when everything clicks, but finding a way to win when nothing does, and on this nervy, scratchy evening at Twickenham, England’s character was forged anew in fire.

#England rugby

#Fiji rugby

#Steve Borthwick

#All Blacks

#Autumn Nations Series

#featured

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