England take on Fiji this Saturday, for their fourth and final match in the 2023 Summer Nations Series. Steve Borthwick’s side have recorded just one win in three Rugby World Cup warm-up matches so far, with the Flying Fijians set to present another difficult test ahead of next month’s tournament.
Defeat against Fiji at Twickenham would be disastrous for England, as Borthwick’s side look to bounce back from the poor display against Ireland last weekend. Andy Farrell’s 2023 Grand Slam Champions ran roughshod over England in Dublin, with a comfortable 29-10 win at the Aviva Stadium.
England will once again be without their captain Owen Farrell, who’s high tackle offence sees him banned until after the first two pool stage matches of the Rugby World Cup (against Argentina and Japan). Farrell’s Saracens teammate Billy Vunipola will also miss out on the match against Fiji, following his ban for the red card he picked up last weekend at the Aviva Stadium.
In similar style to Farrell, Vunipola was initially shown a yellow card for a high tackle offence, and was sent to the bunker to await the ‘off-field review.’ The yellow card was then upgraded to a red, with Vunipola’s ban confirmed this morning to be a three game ban. However, the number eight can reduce the ban to two games if he attends a tackling school.
This confirms Vunipola’s absence in Saturday’s match against Fiji, and the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9th in Marseille. Borthwick will have to shuffle the deck to select his replacement in the eight jersey. The England Head Coach previously dropped Alex Dombrandt and Zach Mercer, leaving Vunipola as the only specialist number eight in the selected 33-man Rugby World Cup squad.
Here is RUCK’s prediction, for the expected England team to face Fiji this Saturday at Twickenham.
BACK THREE
15. Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
14. Max Malins (Bristol Bears)
11. Elliot Daly (Saracens)
Borthwick will need to find a key balance between first team starters and reinforcements for this match, as he needs to secure a win, yet must avoid picking up any injuries so close to the Rugby World Cup. We’ve recalled Freddie Steward and Elliot Daly to the starting XV from last weekend, yet swapped out key winger Anthony Watson for Max Malins on the right hand side.
CENTRES
13. Joe Marchant (Stade Francais)
12. Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
After a career riddled with injuries, we have opted to drop Manu Tuilagi to the bench. This reduces the risk of the Sale centre picking up an injury so close to the trip to France, as he can come on to run riot over the tiring Fijians in the second half. The Ollie Lawrence and Joe Marchant partnership returns from the second test match against Wales, with Marchant a key utility option to push out wide to the wing.