Match: Quilter Nations Series — England v Fiji
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Twickenham
Date: Saturday 8 November, kick-off 17:40 GMT
Coverage: Live on Radio 5 Sports Extra and live text on the BBC Sport website and app
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named Fin Smith at fly-half for Saturday’s Quilter Nations Series clash with Fiji, with Marcus Smith at full-back and Maro Itoje placed among the replacements as the coaching team continues to rotate combinations.
Chandler Cunningham-South earns his first Test start at number eight as Borthwick looks to bolster depth in the position following Tom Willis’s decision to move to France at the end of the season and render himself unavailable for England. Ellis Genge returns to the starting front row and will serve as on-field captain from kick-off.
Tom Roebuck has been left out after suffering a recurrence of an ankle complaint in training on Tuesday, which sees Tommy Freeman revert to the wing and allows Ollie Lawrence to make his long-awaited return to the centre. Lawrence tore his Achilles in the Six Nations win over Italy in March but has progressed more quickly than expected during rehabilitation that included hyperbaric and red-light therapy, work he shared on social media.
Alex Coles comes into the second row while Itoje is being kept for an impact role off the bench, with Borthwick saving his influence for the second half. George Ford, who led England on their successful summer tour of the Americas, is omitted from the matchday 23.
England starting XV: M. Smith; Freeman, Lawrence, Dingwall, Feyi-Waboso; F. Smith, Mitchell; Genge, Cowan-Dickie, Heyes, Coles, Chessum, Pepper, Earl, Cunningham-South
Replacements: George, Baxter, Opoku-Fordjour, Itoje, T. Curry, Pollock, Spencer, Arundell
Assistant coach Kevin Sinfield acknowledged the difficulty of managing three high-quality fly-halves, saying some frustration is inevitable but emphasising that the players’ selflessness and team-first attitude make rotation possible. He pointed to other nations’ successful rotation at 10 and said England’s depth allows them to do the same.
Fin Smith, 23, was handed a first Test start during last year’s Six Nations after the opening defeat to Ireland and led England to four straight wins to finish runners-up. He admitted to being disappointed with his form on the subsequent British and Irish Lions tour, where he was unable to seriously challenge Scotland’s Finn Russell for the Test 10 position.
Sale prop Asher Opoku-Fordjour is named among the replacements, while Lion Will Stuart is left out of the squad. Bath wing Henry Arundell, who last represented England before his move to Racing 92 at the 2023 World Cup, is the only backline cover on the bench.
England have a strong recent record against Fiji, winning eight of the nine previous meetings. Their most recent encounter was a 30-24 quarter-final victory at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, although Fiji beat England 30-22 at Twickenham two months earlier in a notable upset.