Fiji will go into the third quarter-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup thinking they know exactly what it takes to beat England following their 30-22 win against England at Twickenham earlier in 2023. Fiji will play England at Stade de Marseille on Sunday 15 October.
However, England has been improving during the 2023 Rugby World Cup while Fiji lost for the first time ever against Portugal during the final round of the pool matches.
England head coach Steve Borthwick has named his match-day 23 to face Fiji in their quarter-final at Stade de Marseille on Sunday, 15 October. Marcus Smith, a specialist fly-half, starts in place of Freddie Steward at full-back with captain Owen Farrell moving to number 10 and George Ford dropping to the bench. Elliot Daly comes in on the left wing with Jonny May switching to the right flank, Joe Marchant reverting to outside centre and Manu Tuilagi to inside centre.
England defence coach Kevin Sinfield said England have come a long way since the opening round of the 2023 Rugby World Cup: "First of all I think it is a real honour to wear the badge. I mentioned this right at the start about how proud the players are. I have seen that first-hand. We have come a long way, it has been a challenge the last 9-12 months. So to find ourselves in such a big game against a great opposition in a stunning venue is pretty special. We're looking forward to it. I think to be in a World Cup quarter-final is special at any moment but certainly this moment in time the support we have had with the 33 fit guys who are all competing really hard. We are all looking forward to tomorrow."
Fiji head coach Simon Raiwalui has named his 23-man match-day squad to play England in their Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-final in Marseille on Sunday, with 10 players in the run-on team who started for Fiji in their win at Twickenham in August.
Fiji assistant coach Daryl Gibson said they expect England will play a territorial game plan: "Teams that play Fiji have a blueprint in terms of our gameplan. We expect England will play a lot of territory, they will kick the ball a lot and try and put us under a lot of pressure. Both scrum, maul and line-out. We know that is coming, we have also done a lot of work in terms of getting back to the style of play that we are known for. We want our boys to play with freedom and without fear and to give it a real attacking spirit. We are very clear on how we want to play the game."
Teams:
England: 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Maro Itoje, 5 Ollie Chessum, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Ben Earl, 9 Alex Mitchell, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Elliot Daly, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 13 Joe Marchant, 14 Jonny May, 15 Marcus Smith. Replacements: 16 Theo Dan, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Martin, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Danny Care, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Lawrence.
Fiji: 1 Eroni Mawi, 2 Tevita Ikanivere, 3 Luke Tagi, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 5 Albert Tuisue, 6 Lekima Tagitagivalu, 7 Levani Botia, 8 Viliame Mata, 9 Frank Lomani, 10 Vilimoni Botitu, 11 Semi Radradra, 12 Josua Tuisova, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (c), 14 Vinaya Habosi, 15 Ilaisa Droasese. Replacements: 16 Samuel Matavesi, 17 Peni Ravai, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Meli Derenalagi, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simione Kuruvoli, 22 Iosefo Masi, 23 Sireli Maqala.