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True, they are the lowest-ranked team England will play in November, but it would be highly dangerous to underestimate Fiji. Coming between an opening victory against Australia and a box-office encounter with the All Blacks, it might be easy to regard Saturday’s Twickenham encounter as a relatively straightforward assignment. Easy, but foolish.
You don’t have to go back far – two years or so, to an autumn afternoon in Marseille and England’s 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final – to remember how potent Fiji can be.
Picture the scene: with 10 minutes to play at Stade Vélodrome, Vilimoni Botitu’s attractive try has levelled the score at 24-24. An Owen Farrell drop goal edges Steve Borthwick’s side back in front, before Ben Earl’s frantic dash downfield sets up a penalty. Parisian bars are packed with French and South African supporters, warming up for their momentous Stade de France quarter-final by roaring the underdogs on.
England ultimately scrape through with a six-point win. This all comes weeks after Fiji made history at Twickenham, beating England for the first time in a pre-tournament warm-up game. That amounted to England’s sixth loss in nine during the distinctly shaky beginning of Borthwick’s reign. It was difficult then to imagine them progressing to a semi-final defeat by the Springboks.
Things are different now. England are aiming for a ninth straight victory and are on an upward trajectory a month before the draw for Australia 2027 is made.
In rugby-mad Fiji, memories of that narrow quarter-final loss remain fresh. “Redemption” was the back-page headline in Tuesday’s Fiji Times: this is a chance to settle a score. Supporters in their hundreds of thousands are ready to rise early, or stay up all night, for kick-off at 5.40am local time on Sunday.
“You cannot exaggerate how extraordinarily popular rugby union is in Fiji,” says Mark Evans, chief executive of Fijian Drua, the country’s Super Rugby side. “Young, old, male, female. iTaukei [ethnic Fijians], Indo-Fijian, every island, rich or poor – they do play other sports, but culturally rugby is incredibly important.”
In post since 2022, the former Saracens director of rugby and Harlequins chief executive is well placed to judge the health of the game in Fiji. “Across its various teams it has probably never been as consistently strong as it is at the moment,” Evans says.
“The men’s national team are ninth in the world, close to its highest-ever position. Apart from Portugal at the World Cup, they haven’t lost to a team below them since 2022. And this is a team that hardly ever plays at home.”
The launch of Fijian Drua in 2017 has widened the talent pool and improved many of the players who will run out at Twickenham. Fiji’s world-ranking points (81.16) put them comfortably ahead of 10th-placed Italy (77.7) but close to Scotland in eighth (81.57) and Australia in seventh (82.90).
“We’ve got a fair amount of depth because of the Drua – you’ve got 40-odd full-timers playing 15-a-side at a pretty high level,” says Evans. “Plus all the European-based players. The rankings don’t lie.”
Mick Byrne, the head coach who led them to a triumph against Wales in Cardiff last November, has expounded a straightforward approach for Saturday. “We just want to be physical,” Byrne told the Fiji Times. “Take it to them. Just get on the front foot and go after the game.”
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Most recently Byrne oversaw a thrilling 33-27 Pacific Nations Cup final win against Japan in September in Salt Lake City, securing back-to-back titles. After Twickenham they will head across the Channel to meet France in Bordeaux on 15 November.
In Evans’ opinion who should England fans look out for on Saturday? “Jiuta Wainiqolo is, if not the best wing in the world, damn close,” he says of the 26-year-old Toulon back. “He’s had a wonderful last 18 months. Josua Tuisova [Racing 92] is still a handful at inside-centre. ‘The Bus’ is quite an extraordinary rugby player.
“For more of a bolter, there’s Elia Canakaivata from the Drua, who might play No 7. He can play No 8 or No 6. He has had a breakout year and is a hell of a ball carrier.”
It is sure to be physical. This week, Earl described the punishing nature of that Marseille meeting. “Whenever anyone says: ‘What is the biggest hit you have witnessed?’ – it was Tom Curry on Levani Botia,“ Earl said. “The noise that made I was like: ‘Oh my God’. It is very rare you think that on the pitch. That is what it takes playing these guys.”
However it plays out, Fiji’s future looks bright. “They are nowhere near the ceiling,” Evans says. “There’s a pile of work to do on facilities, physical treatment, coaching, pathways, etc. It’s by no means the finished product.”
But rest assured, they will be ready for England on Saturday.
