Ellis Genge and England channel Fiji frustration ahead of unorthodox autumn challenge

Join the Miguel Delaney team: Inside Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter to get exclusive access and unparalleled insight. Football Join the Miguel Delaney Inside newsletter Football You can also read our blog about it.“Go on, say it….” Ellis Genge started, facing the question he anticipated would come. In the past, the prop had only twice led England, but he is now co-captaining alongside Maro Itoje, who will be benched this weekend. He does not have a very positive memory of his defeats against Wales and France in World Cup warm up. The journalist’s questioning was actually a different one, but Genge brought up the subject because he had raised it. The squadmates, who had also reminded him, were the ones to have brought it up. “Immediately, I had a few boys coming up to me saying, ‘let’s hope it goes better than last time’,” Genge spoke after he was named as the new captain of a team that has undergone a lot of changes. open image in galleryGenge’s first time captaining England was a record defeat to France in 2023 (Getty)“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’s not like shouldering any more burden; it doesn’t make the shirt any heavier for me, it’s not something that will change a lot of what I’m doing at the moment. 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.”Beyond speaking slightly more in the week, Genge’s leadership role has not changed significantly. Itoje is a co-captain, and there are three vice-captains on the matchday 23. George Ford is also a leader outside the squad. But it is Genge who often lights the fire within the squad, as he did with the British and Irish Lions in the summer – his chest-thumping, “head-banging” speeches are among the highlights of the documentary chronicling the tour of Australia, though he suggests that his style is slightly different within a group whose emotional buttons he is more familiar with pressing.open image in galleryGenge is one of England’s key leaders (Getty)There will be a few painful experiences upon which Genge can draw, not least Fiji’s last visit to Twickenham. Three weeks after that Welsh warm-up defeat came a ransacking of England’s home, a first ever defeat to the Pacific Islanders that left them reeling as they entered the 2023 Rugby World Cup. While there was some mitigation for a poor performance and Steve Borthwick’s side came good in their group stage opener against Argentina, there is still lingering frustration that may be drawn upon as Genge charges the troops for battle on Saturday evening.“It feels like I’ve been a part of a lot of heartache,” Genge reflected on another painful memory. “It was a tough day – we spoke about the conversation we had four days after it and how uncomfortable it was, and obviously, you don’t want to replicate those feelings.“[It was] a bit of a rude awakening, wasn’t it? You’re going into a World Cup and you lose that game. We are not taking them lightly by any means. 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. You have to give them credit where it’s due and prepare as if it’s any other Test.” The opening image of the gallery shows Fiji’s stunning victory over England at Twickenham in advance of the Rugby World Cup 2023 (Getty). Steve Borthwick informed Gene on Sunday that he was to lead the starting XV for this week. This came after Itoje missed training on Monday and Tuesday due a minor leg injury. Misfortune has forced Borthwick’s hand, somewhat, in an alternative selection to that which he might have plotted ahead of November – a desire to give Tommy Freeman as much run at outside centre as possible has been put on hold, perhaps temporarily, with Tom Roebuck ruled out and up against it to make the meeting with the All Blacks next Saturday.There is no sense, though, of rotation for rotation’s sake, even with some different combinations deployed. Gone are the days of a rag-tag Fiji turning up to Twickenham severely underprepared – the development of the Fijian Drua within Super Rugby Pacific has added structure both on and off the field, with their European-based standouts now sprinkled through Mick Byrne’s more cohesive selection. While they will pose different threats to other oppositions, particularly with their offloading and jackalling ability across the pitch, any team that can afford to leave Bayonne’s dynamite centre Sireli Maqala on the bench clearly has a talent surplus. Fiji is a much improved national team (Getty). Going toe-to-toe with England on two occasions, including in the quarter final of last year’s World Cup, will boost their confidence. “The fact that we’ve been there on that big stage at Twickenham and then in the quarter-final, it means we’ve been there before,” head coach Byrne said, with his side due to face England again on South African soil next July in the new Nations Championship. “It takes away that element of players being overawed by the occasion, which keeps a real good focus on our ability to play our game.”open image in galleryGenge has warned England about Bristol Bears teammate Viliame Mata’s threat (Getty)Genge is particularly familiar with a couple of Fijian foes. Viliame and Kalaveti, Bristol Bears teammates, who are positioned at no 8 and outside centre, respectively, have a relaxed personality off the pitch, but they’re anything but that on it. “Every Fijian I’ve ever played with, they’re brilliant, brilliant people,” Genge suggested. “They’re very laidback and very casual about things. But don’t be fooled – Bill Mata is a nasty piece of work when he’s on the pitch.“I love watching him melt people for Bristol, and I am sure he’s going to try to do the same to me on the weekend. I made it clear to the boys that although these people grow up on beaches, throwing a rugby ball about, and they’re lovely people, they are very nasty to play against.“I do not want any of the boys to be shocked by that and the physical battle of attrition that is going to come. There’s not a rich history of England v Fiji matches, but the bottom line is they beat us last time we played at Twickenham.” Genge is not keen to see a repeat.
2025-11-07 15:16:34