These two met in August in a World Cup warm-up but now a semi-final spot is on the line in Marseille
Marcus Smith runs with the ball in England's August defeat to Fiji at Twickenham (Getty Images)
Can Fiji repeat the trick or will England march onto the semi-finals? That is the question ahead of this afternoon’s mega clash in Marseille. Here are our England v Fiji predictions.
England topped Pool D with relative ease while the Flying Fijians downed Australia for the first time in 69 years before scraping through to a first quarter-final in 16 years after losing to Portugal in a thriller last time out.
Josh Graham: England by 5. Defeat to Portugal saw Fiji scrape into the quarter-final while England were lucky to get past Samoa. It’s Fiji’s first quarter-final since 2007 and you get the sense that big-game experience will come to the fore with England. Steve Borthwick has rolled the dice with selection and they are worried about the breakdown but I expect them to have enough on the day. It might not be pretty, however…
Alan Dymock: England by 12. This is knockout rugby, kids, and not everything can be as open and fun as New Zealand’s win over Ireland. Before this match, Billy Vunipola said England were “public enemy number one, we are happy to take that mantle.” And so they will do what is most likely to get across the line, whether you’re thrilled by it or not. Twin that with how Fiji have mishandled pressure lately, and the omens are in England’s favour.
Kick Off Time 4pm BST – 5pm Local –Sunday 15th October
Fiji secured their first-ever victory over England in August with that historic 30-22 triumph in the Twickenham rain. In their seven previous contests, England have always prevailed. The most recent of which was the 58-15 success at Twickenham in 2016.
England v Fiji team news
Borthwick has been bold by selecting Marcus Smith at full-back and jettisoning Freddie Steward, England’s back-to-back player of the year, from the 23 entirely. George Ford has to make do with a spot among the replacements as Owen Farrell captains the side from fly-half.