"It Hurt" - Ellis Genge Determined to Bury Twickenham Ghosts as England Face Fiji

It will be the third time Genge has captained his country — and perhaps the one he hopes will start to shift the story of his leadership in an England shirt.

With Maro Itoje named as co-captain but starting among the replacements, Genge takes the armband from the first whistle for a fixture loaded with memories — some of them painful.

Fiji’s last visit to Twickenham, back in 2023, ended in history: a 30–22 victory, their first-ever win over England at the stadium. Genge started that match, and the memory still stings.

“Yeah, it hurt,” he admitted this week. “Was it the first time they’ve ever beaten us at Twickenham? Mental. And I was a part of it. It feels like I’ve been a part of a lot of heartache. It was a tough day… obviously you don’t want to replicate those feelings.

"Looking forward, that’s a long time ago and it probably made us better because we went out and put together one of our best performances against Argentina with 14 men, so every cloud.”

A lot has changed since that bruising afternoon. Steve Borthwick’s side have found consistency, winning a summer series 2–0 in Argentina and opening their autumn campaign last week with a solid 25–7 victory over Australia.

The squad for this weekend shows seven changes, with Genge, Marcus Smith, Ollie Lawrence, Fin Smith, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Alex Coles and Chandler Cunningham-South all coming into the starting XV.

The rotation reflects both depth and ambition. Borthwick has hinted that the next two fixtures — against New Zealand and Argentina — will demand his strongest possible side, but the coach wants to keep competition fierce across the squad. For Genge, it’s another opportunity to lead a developing group in transition.

The 30-year-old prop, who spent six weeks with the British and Irish Lions over the summer, says his approach to captaincy has evolved since his previous two outings with the armband, which consisted of England's record defeat at Twickenham against France, and defeat against Wales.

“I think going on that Lions tour showed me that the temperament around the game in general can be a lot more relaxed leading up to kick-off, probably a bit less head-banging,” he said.

“Calling a spade a spade, I did reflect on the last time I did it — the 66-odd points [53] we received from France at home and then the Wales defeat as well. Immediately I had a few boys coming up to me saying let’s hope it goes better than last time.

"We’ve had massive growth, a completely different side. Not just personnel-wise but England in general, the brand of rugby, the way we play the game now is way different.”

When asked what captaining England again means to him, Genge was characteristically down-to-earth. “It’s an honour every time you run out really. It’s not necessarily something that massively changes the way I feel about representing England… it doesn’t make the shirt any heavier for me. But yeah, it’s a crazy thing to be able to say in years to come that you have captained your country three times and something I’ll do with great pride.”

The lessons from the 2023 Fiji loss have been taken to heart. England were outmuscled and outplayed that day, with the Pacific Islanders showcasing their trademark flair and new-found discipline. Genge knows what’s coming this weekend.

“Everyone in rugby now is brilliant. Typically, Fiji didn't get the opportunity to play in massive games and every time they have they have really shown up and shocked the world. We are not taking them lightly by any means,” he said. “Take yourself back to two years ago and everyone would have thought that Fiji would be an easy fixture, but it's not the case at all.”

The respect is mutual, but Genge is under no illusion about the challenge. “They grow up playing sevens, it's their first sport and it's everything for them… It is in their DNA growing up to throw the ball around and they have those lightning bolts in them, those mental feet, the hot-steppers. But every nation is dangerous.”

He also warned his teammates to be ready for the physical toll. “You have to be brave. They have massive bumps in the backline. People like Tuisova, Radradra… my Bristol team-mate Bill Mata. Big old lumps. They understand it's not just about throwing it about now — they have a bit more structure to them. We have to be at our best.”

Known early in his career for raw energy and aggression, Genge now speaks like a man at peace with the chaos of Test rugby. He credits experience, family life, and years in the front row for perspective.

“The key bits: three kids, a thousand scrums. Lots has happened in between,” he joked. “It wasn't something I dreamt of doing… I've been given the captaincy in weird ways I guess… It’s never been something where I've reached out and asked 'can I be captain'. As I've got older, they usually just give it to you as you get a bit older, which is a bad sign!”

There’s still plenty of the old fire — “a bit of banging the chest,” as he puts it — but it’s now balanced by clarity. “When the time comes, as long as you feel emotion speak and your heart comes through… I try to stay away from reading from a piece of paper. When you are in the moment and speaking from how you feel, I don’t think you can go too far wrong.”

For all the humour and humility, Genge knows what’s at stake. England are favourites, but Fiji arrive at Twickenham with confidence and memories of victory. Borthwick’s men will need to combine structure with aggression, and Genge will need to lead a side capable of matching the Fijians’ intensity from the first whistle.

As he told his forwards this week: “Although these people grow up on beaches throwing a rugby ball about and they’re lovely people, they are very nasty to play against… bottom line, they beat us last time we played at Twickenham so there’s a bit there I guess.”