England Saxons facing axe as fixtures dry up

ENGLAND’S A team, the Saxons, has been mothballed for the foreseeable future.

Sportsmail understands there are unlikely to be any more fixtures this season, depriving Eddie Jones of a useful development tool in the run-up to the World Cup. England’s second string last played in June 2016, winning a mini-series against South Africa A 2-0. Of the XV for the second international, 10 are now established Test players. But with other countries shutting down their second teams, England have run out of opposition, to the point where the entire concept is now said to be ‘on hold’. RFU sources have indicated there has been no official decision to scrap the Saxons for good, but the future for the side — which has been seen as a bridge between club and Test rugby — is ‘unclear’. As well as integrating players, the Saxons also serves as a second English ‘capture’ team. Players who appear against another country’s official second team cannot be lured away to represent other nations. Meanwhile, there was some good news for Jones with the confirmation that lock George Kruis — whose England career started with the Saxons in 2013 — is fit to return for Saracens this weekend having recovered from ankle surgery.