Tigers to host England A v Scotland A

[ABClub]

Cameron Henderson must be in with a chance of being selected for the visitors.

I know he played for Scot U20's but is he also England qualified?

Yeah he is, through his mum. English mum and Scottish dad from what I remember when he was around the Scotland U20s. I watch (or used to watch before covid...) the U20s when I can as I'm based up in Edinburgh now. They are usually fun, fairly pitch side affairs with some attacking rugby on show so good to watch.

He was born in Hong Kong, moved back to the UK in his teens and lived in Scotland. He went to Strathallan School - the same school that the Fagerson brothers, George Horne, Jamie Ritchie and Murray McCallum have also come through recently. I don't think he'd lived in England full time until he joined Tigers but he did do a preseason with our U18s a few years before signing from Glasgow.

[kk20gb30]

...Out of the blue , but wonderful news...

[Scott1]

So we have stopped using the word Saxons because it’s inappropriate and doesn’t reflect society! What a world we now live in!

[kpj tiger]

Whilst I don't have any issues with Rugby trying to be more inclusive I do think removing the Saxons name in favour of a generic "A" name is just stupid.

The Anglo-Saxons are a incredibly important part of the history of England (arguably the most), if you look at it through the lens of representation then of course it doesn't really represent anybody being as your talking about an ethnic group that has been mixing with others for over 1000 years, but since when did team names have to represent the current make up of society?

The name of this club comes from a regiment of the British Army that hasn't existed since 1964 so does that mean we should change our name because it doesn't represent the city or county anymore? (And that's before you get to the potentially "problematic" issues with the regiments association with colonialism etc)

I think the RFU have much bigger issues when it comes to representations than team names and this just shows how little they really care about the actual issue, in their eyes they can just change the name of the Saxons, pat each other on the back for a job well done and go back to their board meetings that are full of old middle and upper class white men

[Scott1]

Whilst I don't have any issues with Rugby trying to be more inclusive I do think removing the Saxons name in favour of a generic "A" name is just stupid.

The Anglo-Saxons are a incredibly important part of the history of England (arguably the most), if you look at it through the lens of representation then of course it doesn't really represent anybody being as your talking about an ethnic group that has been mixing with others for over 1000 years, but since when did team names have to represent the current make up of society?

The name of this club comes from a regiment of the British Army that hasn't existed since 1964 so does that mean we should change our name because it doesn't represent the city or county anymore? (And that's before you get to the potentially "problematic" issues with the regiments association with colonialism etc)

I think the RFU have much bigger issues when it comes to representations than team names and this just shows how little they really care about the actual issue, in their eyes they can just change the name of the Saxons, pat each other on the back for a job well done and go back to their board meetings that are full of old middle and upper class white men

The RFU wants disbanding and starting again,it’s as bad as the British Boxing Board of control. Closed club milking it with all their noses in the trough.

[sk 88]

Whilst I don't have any issues with Rugby trying to be more inclusive I do think removing the Saxons name in favour of a generic "A" name is just stupid.

The Anglo-Saxons are a incredibly important part of the history of England (arguably the most), if you look at it through the lens of representation then of course it doesn't really represent anybody being as your talking about an ethnic group that has been mixing with others for over 1000 years, but since when did team names have to represent the current make up of society?

The name of this club comes from a regiment of the British Army that hasn't existed since 1964 so does that mean we should change our name because it doesn't represent the city or county anymore? (And that's before you get to the potentially "problematic" issues with the regiments association with colonialism etc)

I think the RFU have much bigger issues when it comes to representations than team names and this just shows how little they really care about the actual issue, in their eyes they can just change the name of the Saxons, pat each other on the back for a job well done and go back to their board meetings that are full of old middle and upper class white men

No it doesn't. It comes from playing in orange and brown stripes, this is a very common misconception. There is no evidence whatsoever to show a link with an army regiment and lots of evidence that the nickname was developed and became spread during the three seasons we played in the stripes.

[Systonite]

Several of our lads might have an eye on this. Heyes, Clare, Martin, JVP, Steward, Wells, Kelly and Henderson could all have claims, although the latter two may have options elsewhere. Eddie Jones will presumably use the game to assess those who might move up later and challenge for a world cup place. Several England players away with the Lions, several more injured and others involved in the first team could make for some interesting selections.

[JP14]

Could just be tokenism on the RFU’s part, but I can see why they have done it. Gonna have to do a lot more than make a name change (or you know having a quiet word with Exeter would be nice), but the name Saxons could have connotations of racial exclusivity linked to the wrong belief of small minority in this country who believe that race & ethnicity is the only factor that always will define one’s nationality.

I can see the traditionalism in having the name ‘England A’, but they could have been a bit more imaginative.

[kk20gb30]

...heading off potential issues before they (inevitably) arise....

[sam16111986]

Several of our lads might have an eye on this. Heyes, Clare, Martin, JVP, Steward, Wells, Kelly and Henderson could all have claims, although the latter two may have options elsewhere. Eddie Jones will presumably use the game to assess those who might move up later and challenge for a world cup place. Several England players away with the Lions, several more injured and others involved in the first team could make for some interesting selections.

There's slim to no chance of Clare and Wells being called up as both are in their late 20s and just good squad players. Valuable to us but unlikely to get near an international first team.

Heyes, Martin and Steward I'd assume will be there as the first two were in and about the 6N squad (both named in the shadow squad and then Martin called up and capped). JVP, Henderson and Kelly are all outside chances but yeah they might be involved. It might depend on who's injured and what Eddie's long term plans are. I suspect Scotland will look to cap Henderson, Ashman and maybe Rodd this summer to ward off potential England interest later on.

[RagingBull]

Might depend on U20's and if they have games.

[jgriffin]

...heading off potential issues before they (inevitably) arise....

I have some t-shirts they might be interested in:
"We Brits were OK till the AngloSaxons arrived"
"Repatriate All Saxons, Jutes and Danes"
"Romans, go home"
and so on.
PS (this is a funny....)

[Dokie]

Several of our lads might have an eye on this. Heyes, Clare, Martin, JVP, Steward, Wells, Kelly and Henderson could all have claims, although the latter two may have options elsewhere. Eddie Jones will presumably use the game to assess those who might move up later and challenge for a world cup place. Several England players away with the Lions, several more injured and others involved in the first team could make for some interesting selections.

There's slim to no chance of Clare and Wells being called up as both are in their late 20s and just good squad players. Valuable to us but unlikely to get near an international first team.

Heyes, Martin and Steward I'd assume will be there as the first two were in and about the 6N squad (both named in the shadow squad and then Martin called up and capped). JVP, Henderson and Kelly are all outside chances but yeah they might be involved. It might depend on who's injured and what Eddie's long term plans are. I suspect Scotland will look to cap Henderson, Ashman and maybe Rodd this summer to ward off potential England interest later on.

Happy to be wrong but I think the back 3 will be from Malins, Cokanasiga, the Irish 3, David and Hodge, with maybe an outside chance for Steward, Muir and Freeman.

[sam16111986]

Several of our lads might have an eye on this. Heyes, Clare, Martin, JVP, Steward, Wells, Kelly and Henderson could all have claims, although the latter two may have options elsewhere. Eddie Jones will presumably use the game to assess those who might move up later and challenge for a world cup place. Several England players away with the Lions, several more injured and others involved in the first team could make for some interesting selections.

There's slim to no chance of Clare and Wells being called up as both are in their late 20s and just good squad players. Valuable to us but unlikely to get near an international first team.

Heyes, Martin and Steward I'd assume will be there as the first two were in and about the 6N squad (both named in the shadow squad and then Martin called up and capped). JVP, Henderson and Kelly are all outside chances but yeah they might be involved. It might depend on who's injured and what Eddie's long term plans are. I suspect Scotland will look to cap Henderson, Ashman and maybe Rodd this summer to ward off potential England interest later on.

Happy to be wrong but I think the back 3 will be from Malins, Cokanasiga, the Irish 3, David and Hodge, with maybe an outside chance for Steward, Muir and Freeman.

I'm not sure Hodge and David have played enough to work their way into immediate contention. Steward should be a considerable way ahead of Hodge. In fact I'd think Freeman may also be ahead of Hodge. The three LI guys are all on good form so could make it Ollie Sleightholme at Saints and Radwan at Falcons now he's fit again could both get a look in as well.

I presume Eddie will want to look at Steward because he offers a uniquely high quality ability in the aerial dual that England likes to employ.

[tjs10inOz]

Whilst I don't have any issues with Rugby trying to be more inclusive I do think removing the Saxons name in favour of a generic "A" name is just stupid.

I actually thought removing the "A" name in the first place and trying to create a "Saxons" brand to piggyback on established sides with genuine tradition like the Maori was stupid.

I was part of a focus group many years ago when they were proposing the Saxons rebranding and not one person in the group supported the name change from England A.