England Saxons
Encyclopedia
England Saxons is the current name of England
's men's second national rugby union
team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A. The Saxons play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an international environment and to show that they have the ability to perform at Test level for the England first team
. England Saxons were unbeaten for 13 games until losing to Ireland A, now known as Ireland Wolfhounds, in the 2009 Churchill Cup
Final on the 21st June 2009.
England Saxons were one of three sides that regularly competed in the now-defunct annual Churchill Cup
competition, the others being the full national teams of Canada
and the United States
. Since 2006, they have also played two matches, against Ireland Wolfhounds and Italy A, in parallel with the full Six Nations Championship
.
The Saxons are currently coached by RFU coach Stuart Lancaster
, assisted by the Rugby Football Union
’s National Academy coach Simon Hardy and ex-England player Andy Farrell.
.
The Saxons are seen as an integral part of the RFU's development process:
England Saxons games do not count as full England internationals, regardless of the opposition, as players are not capped
. However, the governing body of a lower-tier nation may grant full national caps when its senior side plays the Saxons—for example, USA Rugby
awarded official Test caps for the USA team's matches against the Saxons through 2008
. If the opposition awards Test caps for a match, it counts fully in Test statistics for the capping nation, though not for England.
, Scotland
, Ireland
, Italy
and Wales
), the games being played on the same weekends as Six Nations Championship matches. Since 2006, the Saxons' opponents in these games have been Ireland Wolfhounds and Italy A
.
.
Rugby union in England
Rugby union is one of the leading professional and recreational team sports in England. A popular myth is that Rugby was created in England in 1823, when William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a football match at Rugby School. In 1871 the RFU was formed by 21 clubs and the...
's men's second national rugby union
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England A. The Saxons play a key role in the development of emerging talent, allowing players to gain experience in an international environment and to show that they have the ability to perform at Test level for the England first team
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
. England Saxons were unbeaten for 13 games until losing to Ireland A, now known as Ireland Wolfhounds, in the 2009 Churchill Cup
Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams from a wide array of countries....
Final on the 21st June 2009.
England Saxons were one of three sides that regularly competed in the now-defunct annual Churchill Cup
Churchill Cup
The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams from a wide array of countries....
competition, the others being the full national teams of Canada
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
and the United States
United States national rugby union team
USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...
. Since 2006, they have also played two matches, against Ireland Wolfhounds and Italy A, in parallel with the full Six Nations Championship
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
.
The Saxons are currently coached by RFU coach Stuart Lancaster
Stuart Lancaster (rugby)
Stuart Lancaster is the Head of Elite Player Development for the England Rugby Football Union.-Rugby career:...
, assisted by the Rugby Football Union
Rugby Football Union
The Rugby Football Union was founded in 1871 as the governing body for the sport of rugby union, and performed as the international governing body prior to the formation of the International Rugby Board in 1886...
’s National Academy coach Simon Hardy and ex-England player Andy Farrell.
Concept
England's second team was known as England B until 1992, when it was renamed as England A. In 2000, as part of its long-term strategic plan, the RFU re-examined the role of the 'second team' and decided that a change of name was desirable. Several names were considered – e.g. England Aces and England Bloods – before the name England Saxons was chosen from a short-list of possibles. The change of name took effect from mid-May 2006, just before the start of that year's Churchill Cup2006 Churchill Cup
The 2006 Churchill Cup is a Rugby Union competition, typically between the second teams of various top tier international Rugby nations and the first teams of traditionally less prominent teams, such as Canada and the USA. It first began on June 3, 2006 and ended on June 17. The 2006 competition...
.
The Saxons are seen as an integral part of the RFU's development process:
England Saxons games do not count as full England internationals, regardless of the opposition, as players are not capped
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
. However, the governing body of a lower-tier nation may grant full national caps when its senior side plays the Saxons—for example, USA Rugby
USA Rugby
USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. It is divided into seven territorial Unions: Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Pacific Coast, Southern California, South, and West...
awarded official Test caps for the USA team's matches against the Saxons through 2008
2008 Churchill Cup
The 2008 Churchill Cup took place between 7 June and 21 June 2008 in what was the sixth year of the tournament. Six rugby union teams took part: , England Saxons, Ireland A, Scotland A, the , and an Argentinian XV.-Participation:...
. If the opposition awards Test caps for a match, it counts fully in Test statistics for the capping nation, though not for England.
Participation in international competition
England A / Saxons participated in the Churchill Cup from its inception in 2003 until its demise following the 2011 edition. Under the final format, they played three games, two at the pool stage and one on finals day. The Saxons also play two matches each season against teams from the other Six Nations countries (FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
), the games being played on the same weekends as Six Nations Championship matches. Since 2006, the Saxons' opponents in these games have been Ireland Wolfhounds and Italy A
Italy A national rugby union team
The Italy A national rugby union team are the second national rugby union team in Italy after the national side. They compete every year in the IRB Nations Cup.-Fixtures:IRB Nations Cup 2010...
.
Current squad
England Saxons squad for the 2011 Churchill Cup2011 Churchill Cup
The 2011 Churchill Cup, the ninth edition of an annual international rugby union tournament, took place in Northampton, Esher, Gloucester and Worcester...
.
| Position | Club | |
| Paul Hodgson Paul Hodgson Paul Hodgson, born 25 April 1982 in Epsom, Surrey is an English rugby union player.Hodgson plays for London Irish in the Aviva Premiership, as a Scrum-half-Early career:... |
Scrum-half | London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... |
| Micky Young Micky Young Michael Young is a Scrum half for Rugby Union team Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership. He is a product of West Hartlepool Rugby Club junior academy.-Club Career:... |
Scrum-half | Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... |
| Rory Clegg Rory Clegg Rory Clegg in the British Military Hospital, Hannover Germany is a rugby union player for Harlequins F.C. in the Aviva Premiership... |
Fly-half | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
| Henry Trinder Henry Trinder Henry Richard Trinder is an English rugby union player for Gloucester Rugby in the Guinness Premiership. He plays as a centre or on the wing.... |
Centre | Gloucester |
| Jordan Turner-Hall Jordan Turner-Hall Jordan Turner-Hall born 5 January 1988 in London, England is a rugby union player for Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership, playing primarily as a Centre but can also play on the Wing.... |
Centre | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
| Billy Twelvetrees Billy Twelvetrees William Wesley "Billy" Twelvetrees is a rugby union footballer who plays centre or fly-half for Leicester Tigers.Within the Tigers squad he is nicknamed 36. This comes from club captain Geordan Murphy saying 'Twelvetrees', but with his Irish accent it sounded like 'twelve threes'..... |
Centre | Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010... |
| Miles Benjamin Miles Benjamin Miles Benjamin is a rugby union player who plays at Wing for Worcester Warriors in the English Aviva Premiership. He also played several other sports in his youth, representing the West Midlands at athletics and water polo, and Warwickshire at cricket... |
Wing | Worcester Warriors |
| Topsy Ojo Topsy Ojo Temitope "Topsy" Ojo is an English rugby union player for the London Irish club, and has represented England at International level.He became a full member of the London Irish squad in April 2006, and now plays wing.-London Irish:... |
Wing | London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... |
| Charlie Sharples Charlie Sharples Charlie Sharples is an English rugby union footballer, currently playing in the Guinness Premiership for Gloucester. He plays as a wing.... |
Wing | Gloucester |
| Mike Brown | Fullback | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
| Alex Goode Alex Goode D. Alexander V. Goode is a professional English rugby union player playing in the Aviva Premiership for Saracens F.C..-Biography:... |
Fullback | Saracens Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
| Position | Club | |
| Joe Gray Joe Gray (rugby union) Joe Gray is a rugby union player for Harlequins in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a hooker, and previously played for the Northampton Saints.-External links:*... |
Hooker | Harlequins Harlequin F.C. The Harlequin Football Club is an English rugby union team who play in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. Their ground in London is Twickenham Stoop... |
| David Paice David Paice David Paice is a rugby union footballer who plays at hooker or prop for London Irish.Paice participated in the 2007 Churchill Cup.He was later called into the England Saxons side that defeated Ireland A on 1 February 2008.... |
Hooker | London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... |
| Kieran Brookes Kieran Brookes Kieran Brookes is an English rugby player who plays with Leicester Tigers as a prop.-Club career:He made almost 40 senior appearances for Newcastle but only started 1 game in the 2009–2010 season.... |
Prop | Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons The Newcastle Falcons is an English rugby union team currently playing in the Aviva Premiership. The club was established in 1877 and played under the name of Gosforth Football Club until 1990. The name was then changed to Newcastle Gosforth and the club began to play at Kingston Park stadium in... |
| Nathan Catt Nathan Catt Nathan Catt is a rugby union player who plays at Prop for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership.Catt played for England in the 2007 IRB U19 World Championships. In the 2008 U20 Six Nations, Catt started every game, as the England under-20 team won the grand slam... |
Prop | Bath Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is an English professional rugby union club that is based in the city of Bath. They play in the Aviva Premiership league... |
| Matt Mullan Matt Mullan Matt Mullan is an English rugby union player for Worcester Warriors in the Aviva Premiership, after being promoted from the RFU Championship.He plays as a loosehead prop but can also play hooker.... |
Prop | Worcester Warriors |
| Matt Stevens | Prop | Saracens Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
| Dave Attwood Dave Attwood Dave Attwood is a rugby union player who plays at Lock for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership.-Early career:... |
Lock | Gloucester |
| Mouritz Botha Mouritz Botha Mouritz Botha is a rugby union player who plays for Saracens in the Aviva Premiership. He joined English club Bedford Blues in 2006 and made 73 appearances before moving to Saracens F.C. in 2009. Botha was named in the 2011 England Saxons squad for the Churchill Cup after qualifying for England on... |
Lock | Saracens Saracens F.C. Saracens are a professional rugby union team based in St. Albans, England – although they play their home games at Vicarage Road, in Watford. They are currently members of the Aviva Premiership, the top level of domestic rugby union in England... |
| Graham Kitchener Graham Kitchener Graham Kitchener is an English rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in the Aviva Premiership.He plays as a Lock but can also play as a blindside flanker.... |
Lock | Worcester Warriors |
| Carl Fearns Carl Fearns Carl Fearns is a rugby union player for Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a back-row.Fearns made his Sale debut in an EDF Energy Cup match against Cardiff Blues, winning the Man of the Match award.... |
Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
Sale Sharks Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... |
| James Gaskell James Gaskell James Gaskell is a rugby union player for Sale Sharks in the Aviva Premiership. He plays as a flanker or lock. After making the debut for Sale in 2008, Gaskell was named the club's Breakthrough Player of the Year for the 2009/10 season... |
Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
Sale Sharks Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club who play in England in the Aviva Premiership.The club is an offshoot of Sale FC, which is based at Heywood Road in Sale, Greater Manchester, but Sharks currently play in Stockport at Edgeley Park, ground sharing with Stockport County F.C.Part of the... |
| Jamie Gibson Jamie Gibson Jamie Gibson is an English rugby union player who plays at flanker for London Irish in the Aviva Premiership. He was a member of the Grand Slam winning England U18 side in 2008 and is currently a member of the England Under 20 team that reached the third place play off in the 2010 JWC... |
Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
London Irish London Irish London Irish RFC is an English rugby union club based in Sunbury, Surrey, where the senior squad train, the youth teams and senior academy play home games, and the club maintain their administrative offices. The senior squad play home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading and compete in the top... |
| Tom Johnson Tom Johnson (Rugby Union) Tom Johnson is a professional Rugby Union player for Exeter Chiefs in the Aviva Premiership. Tom was educated at Dean Close School, Cheltenham. His position of choice is Flanker or Number eight.... |
Flanker Flanker (rugby union) A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards... |
Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs Exeter Rugby Club are a rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon.The Exeter club was formed around 1871 and played its first match in 1873. The first team has been rebranded as the Exeter Chiefs and play in a strip of Black , White .... |
| Jordan Crane (c) Captain (sports) In team sports, a captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field... |
Number eight | Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010... |
| Luke Narraway Luke Narraway Luke Narraway is a rugby union footballer who plays for Gloucester Rugby.-Club career:Narraway joined Gloucester Rugby from The King's School, Worcester after 4 years at The Chantry High School, Worcestershire... |
Number eight | Gloucester |
Coaches
The following table shows the coaching staff in 2010.EWLINE
|