England head coach Steve Borthwick has made seven changes to his starting lineup for Fiji compared to the one that defeated Australia last week.
Notable shifts include Ellis Genge starting as co-captain, Marcus Smith moving to fullback, and Fin Smith starting at fly-half and captain Maro Itoje moving to the bench.
FIJI Water Flying Fijians head coach Mick Byrne called the move strategic, emphasising the depth and quality in the England squad.
“They’ve (England) got a big series, it’s a bit like us selecting our team they’ve got so much depth but their finishing department pretty strong so we looking to make sure we stay competitive and we are ready for that,” he said.
Mick is not underestimating the new look squad, and he knows as any England team playing at home will be hard to beat.
“When you rest a couple of key players but then you look who comes in, there’s some talent whose come in. So, we know that England are trying to get through a four-test series and it’s not that they’re sort of taken us differently from any other team. They’ve just got to balance their team up for the four tests” Byrne eplained.
