Saxons renamed

I see we are now doing away with the with Saxons name in the name of diversity and inclusion by the RFU

I could be wrong, but I think there was a backlash when England A were renamed the Saxons in the first place, along the lines of why do we need these stupid Americanised team names (with apologies to fans of the Blues, Reds, Trailfinders, Knights, Pirates, Tigers, Warriors, Falcons, Bears, Sharks and Chiefs)?  So you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Edited by Mark W-J - 11 May 2021 at 12:42

Mark W-J wrote: I could be wrong, but I think there was a backlash when England A were renamed the Saxons in the first place, along the lines of why do we need these stupid Americanised team names (with apologies to fans of the Blues, Reds, Trailfinders, Knights, Pirates, Tigers, Warriors, Falcons, Bears, Sharks and Chiefs)?  So you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

Mark W-J wrote: I could be wrong, but I think there was a backlash when England A were renamed the Saxons in the first place, along the lines of why do we need these stupid Americanised team names (with apologies to fans of the Blues, Reds, Trailfinders, Knights, Pirates, Tigers, Warriors, Falcons, Bears, Sharks and Chiefs)?  So you're damned if you do and damned if you don't.

On a 0-10 scale of outrage about the scrapping of the Saxons label, with 10 being a nuclear self-combustion, I'm about 1.5, maybe 2...

gerg_861 wrote: I'm just glad to see the 'A' side playing again - though I'd prefer if they played some tier 2 nations to let people see teams that they normally don't get to (keeping in mind that that would be difficult this particular year).

373 wrote: Does it actually cost a lot of money to form an 'A' squad?  Especially when there is no travel costs if it's an England vs Scotland game. Are you sure that the teams you have mentioned aren't running because of a lack of competitive rugby over the past 12 months which makes selecting players for those squads quite challenging? Also, where have you got the news from that the Senior Counties won't run next season? All the news I've seen is quite to the contrary.

PiffPaff wrote: 373 wrote: Does it actually cost a lot of money to form an 'A' squad?  Especially when there is no travel costs if it's an England vs Scotland game. Are you sure that the teams you have mentioned aren't running because of a lack of competitive rugby over the past 12 months which makes selecting players for those squads quite challenging? Also, where have you got the news from that the Senior Counties won't run next season? All the news I've seen is quite to the contrary. 373 guessing that is aimed at me. Ok squad of 25 (23 players 2 backup) all getting paid (match fee) lets make the maths easy and say a £1K each = 25K Management & Coaching Team probably minimum of 5 plus, Analyst, Doctor(s) Physio(s) min of 5 again. 4 Nights minimum in a suitable 4 Star Hotel near Leicester or possibly 2 nights at Pennyhill Park or The Lensbury for say a party of 35, then 2 nights (day before and night of game) in Leicester. So food and accommodation circa £10.5K bill. Hire of Ground from Leicester Tigers cost unknown but I would guess around £5K  Sundries, including player insurance, medical standbys (Ambulance on station at Ground) add another £5K So yes just under £50K......... been told the last England Counties U18 2 game series cost around £60K. BTW the Counties Aspirational programmes have been told there is no funding NEXT SEASON not this season as the programme was like the rest of the game paused. So money is so tight they RFU can't fund the Counties National Squads next year but can find a lot of cash to run the Saxons, oh sorry the "A" Team........ "and they ain't gettin' on no plane!"

Bit of a difference between the England A team and an U18 squad for lads who aren’t good enough to play in the proper U18 England squad

Monkey Boy wrote: Bit of a difference between the England A team and an U18 squad for lads who aren’t good enough to play in the proper U18 England squad