England A is 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 Saxons. England A 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 A were unbeaten for 13 games until losing to Ireland A, now known as Ireland Wolfhounds, in the 2009 Churchill Cup Final on 21 June 2009.
England A was 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. From 2006 onwards, they also regularly played two matches against other European countries in parallel with the full Six Nations Championship.
History
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 – for example, 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 Cup.
England 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 played two matches each season against the other teams competing in the Six Nations Championship– (France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales) – with the games being played on the same weekends as Six Nations test matches.
The team reverted to their traditional name of England A in May 2021.[1] The name change was made ahead of the team's planned return against Scotland A that summer, having been on an extended hiatus since its two-match series win over South Africa A in 2016.[2] However, this fixture was ultimately cancelled, due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Scotland squad.[3]
In November 2023, it was announced that England A would make another revival the following spring, coinciding with the 2024 Six Nations.[4] In their first game in eight years, England A achieved their biggest ever win, defeating Portugal by 91–5 in February 2024.[5] This marked the beginning of a more regular schedule of fixtures for the side, with another match against Australia A taking place in November of that year.[6]
Concept
England A are seen as an integral part of the RFU's development process:[7]
England Saxons is a key part of the development pathway to the senior side...
The future success of rugby in England depends, to a large extent, on the next best 15 players.
England A will give up and coming players a platform to perform in an international environment and to show that they can make the step up when required.
England A 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 in 2008. If the opposition awards Test caps for a match, it counts fully in Test statistics for the capping nation, though not for England.
Recent results
The following is a list of England A's recent match results, since the team's revival in February 2024, as well as upcoming scheduled fixtures:
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England XV 29–0 
Canada 
Portugal 
Scotland A 
