The RFU have revealed England’s second rugby team will no longer be called the ‘Saxons’, which is a name commonly used to describe white people.
They have dropped the name because it is ‘inappropriate’ and doesn’t ‘reflect diversity in society’, the sport’s bosses revealed today.
Announcing the name change a RFU spokesman said: ‘We have chosen to revert to the traditional name of ‘England A’ for this fixture against ‘Scotland A’ as a better representation of our team today’.
When the Saxons moniker was originally introduced in 2006, the team’s only black player was Jason Robinson.
Today the team – and the sport generally – has more players from BAME backgrounds.
The second team will now be called England A and will play their first match against Scotland A at the end of June at Welford Road, Leicester.
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Remembering the last England Saxons XV – Who started in 2016
The last time England’s second string took the field was in South Africa in June 2016, winning 29-16 against their A team in what was an epic encounter.
Here is how they lined up: