England have chance to right wrongs against Fiji

In the quarter-final of the Rugby World Cup in August 2023 at Twickenham, England suffered a defeat of 30-22 against Fiji. On Sunday, 15 October, at the Stade de Marseille, the teams will face each other once again. The match is set to begin at 4:00 PM British Summer Time. Those looking to follow the action can catch commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, as well as live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app.

This is a chance to correct some errors.

Fans of England in Marseille this weekend may be remembering what Jamie George said earlier this week.

During the quarter-final match of the World Cup on Sunday, the England player in the position of hooker spoke about the opportunity to rectify their loss against Fiji in August.

England has more than one mistake to correct in their upcoming match in Marseille. They have a great chance to fix their team's instabilities and regain their balance.

Some people believe that making it to the semi-finals of the World Cup due to an easier path on an imbalanced draw would just conceal the flaws of a team.

Some people might argue that a World Cup semi-final is still a World Cup semi-final.

On Sunday, there's a lot at stake, including the reputation of head coach Steve Borthwick when it comes to choosing the team.

It appears to be an unexpected gamble to put Marcus Smith at full-back for the crucial match, considering that this marks only his second appearance at the international level in this position.

Borthwick supported his choice to begin with captain Owen Farrell at the position of fly-half instead of George Ford. He described the leader of Saracens as being exceptional and noted that he is amongst the top leaders that he has encountered.

Borthwick included that he is the sort of individual you would want to join up with on the field.

On Sunday, we will discover if he is capable of leading England's offensive strategy and scoring sufficient points to defeat Fiji.

Trying to fit both fly-halves Smith and Farrell in the starting backline illustrates one of the most significant issues England faces in this World Cup period.

This is a team where each player has their own exceptional skills, but they are struggling to figure out how to combine those skills to achieve victories as a group.

Matt Dawson, the former World Cup champion, believes that team selection is not a critical factor for the upcoming weekend.

In the Rugby Union Daily podcast, it was mentioned by someone that there are numerous players who could be a part of England's backline and still, England would be able to win the game.

Even if it's not beautiful, I believe that they would emerge victorious in the match.

I personally believe that George Ford is currently leading the way for how England plays. To me, this is not a small thing. If England was constructing anything, it was being done with Ford playing the role of 10.

Coming up against Fiji who is ranked as the world's tenth-best team is one challenge. However, the possibility of reaching the semi-finals and playing against either the hosts France or the current titleholders South Africa presents a completely different level of difficulty.

The players chosen by Smith appear to be well-suited for Fiji. Given the islanders' tendency to hold onto the ball, it is improbable that England will require the talent of Freddie Steward in catching high balls.

This selection of equipment provides an opportunity to experiment with different options.

England has the highest average number of kicks during the tournament, with an average of 40.3. Smith might be tempted to run instead if there is some space.

Despite all the discussion about the defensive players of England this week, the scrum has not always been successful.

Borthwick's team had a difficult battle during their last pool match against Samoa. In the fight for dominance, they found themselves trailing behind, and had to work hard to secure their victory with a tight score of 18-17.

Fiji has the potential to excel in the scrum area, just as England's prop Dan Cole noted that they were a formidable opponent in this aspect during the game played in Twickenham.

These individuals have a lot of knowledge in their field and possess considerable physical strength due to their size.

In an effort to neutralize Fiji's strength in disrupting play at the breakdown, the English team has implemented measures. This is particularly necessary as the Fijian player Levani Botia is known to be a key player in this area.

Sam Underhill was chosen to join the England squad for training this week, with the intention of adding some of Botia's talent for stealing the ball.

In the triumph of August, Fiji snatched the ball five times at the ruck where England was penalized thrice.

England are still considered the team most likely to win. This is partly because their defence is becoming stronger - they have only let in three tries, the fewest of any team in the tournament.

In the meantime, Fiji has only scored nine tries, which is the lowest number among the eight teams that remain. Furthermore, during a recent match against Portugal, their line-out did not perform well and it seemed particularly vulnerable.

Dawson thinks that the defeat was a consequence of Fiji's departure from their typical style of thrilling rugby.

He expressed concern that their performance against Portugal was not natural or as expected.

I believe that by continuing to implement the same strategies used in the past six weeks, they stand a good chance of winning against England.

Enthusiasm can be found on each end.

The phrase 'The last dance' has become very popular with the English team because there are many players who may not get another chance to play for their national team after this game.

Fiji is determined to make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time ever, and the entire country is counting on them to succeed.

There have also been sad events. Josua Tuisova's son who was seven years old passed away and a few weeks later, Sam Matavesi came back to England after his father's death. But despite these tragedies, they have both been selected to play in Sunday's game.

Fiji's Botia has called it "a game for life". Joe Marler, an English prop, stated: "Our aim is to put in maximum effort and end on a positive note."

It would be devastating for the Rugby Football Union if England were to lose, as they have already had a difficult few years with disappointing results in the Six Nations and the previous coach, Eddie Jones, being fired less than a year ago.

It would be a historic achievement for Fiji to win.

According to Borthwick, the players are ready to take on the challenge and overcome it. He added that these players are not afraid of playing in important matches as they are already experienced in that area.

The line-up for England includes Smith as the main player, followed by May, Marchant, Tuilagi, and Daly. The captain of the team is Farrell, who is playing alongside Mitchell. Leading the front row is Genge, who is supported by George and Cole. The team boasts strong defense with Itoje, Chessum, Lawes, Curry, and Earl.

These are the substitutes: Dan, Marler, Sinckler, Martin, Vunipola, Care, Ford, Lawrence.

In Fiji's rugby team lineup, the players in the positions of Droasese, Habosi, Nayacalevu (who is also the captain), Tuisova, Radradra, Botitu, and Lomani form the backline. The forwards are Mawi, Ikanivere, Tagi, Nasilasila, Tuisue, Tagitagivalu, Botia, and Mata.

Substitutes: Matavesi, Ravai, Doge, Derenalagi, Miramira, Kuruvoli, Masi and Maqala can be used as replacement players.

Game official: Mathieu Raynal (from France) The original sentence used "referee," which suggests that Mathieu Raynal is specifically the referee for a match. However, using "game official" is more general and can encompass other roles such as assistant referees or the fourth official.

The referee in charge of the TV match is called Ben Whitehouse and he is from Wales.