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England A national rugby union team

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England A
UnionRugby Football Union
CoachMark Mapletoft (November 2025)
CaptainEthan Roots (November 2025)
1st kit
2nd kit
First match
England England XV 29–0  Canada
(30 September 1967)
Largest win
England England A 91–5  Portugal
(25 February 2024)
Largest defeat
England England Saxons 0–35  Scotland A
(3 February 2012)

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

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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

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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.

— Andy Robinson (England head coach), 18 May 2006

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

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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:

  Win   Draw   Loss   Upcoming

25 February 2024 England A  91–5  Portugal Welford Road, Leicester  
13:00 GMT (UTC+0) Try: Blamire 2' m
Pearson 5' m
Barbeary 13' m
Tuima 18' c
Muir 24' c
Murley (3) 28' c, 71' m, 75' m
Hodge 33' c
Ojomoh 40' c
Penalty try 41'
Riley 52' m
Shillcock 57' m
Beard 62' c
Fisilau 67' c
Con: Hodge (5/6) 19', 25', 29', 34', 40+1'
Shillcock (2/5) 63', 68'
 Report Try: Vareiro 59' m
Cards: Vareiro Yellow card 18' 		Attendance: 15,123
Referee: Luc Ramos (France)
England A:
Forwards – 1. Baxter 2. Blamire 3. Heyes 4. Tuima 5. Ewels (c) 6. Pearson 7. Pepper 8. Barbeary
Backs – 9. Randall 10. Atkinson 11. Muir 12. Ojomoh 13. Beard 14. Murley 15. Hodge
Substitutes – 16. Riley 17. Haffar 18. Iosefa-Scott 19. Bamber 20. Fisilau 21. Englefield 22. Shillcock 23. Hartley
Portugal XV:
Forwards – 1. Arrojado 2. Vicente 3. Prim 4. Andrade 5. Fernandes 6. Ribeiro 7. F. Almeida 8. Roque
Backs – 9. Pinto 10. Vareiro 11. J. Cortes 12. Nobre 13. Leite 14. Gomes 15. A. Almeida
Substitutes – 16. Da Cunha 17. Rodrigues 18. Turabelidze 19. Batista 20. Cabaco 21. B. Almeida 22. D. Cortes 23. Da Camara
17 November 2024 England A  38–17  Australia A Twickenham Stoop, London  
14:00 GMT (UTC+0) Try: Heyes 6' m
Murley (2) 42' m, 77' c
Langdon 56' c
Fisilau 61' c
Muir 67' c
Con: Atkinson (2/4) 57', 62'
Shillcock (2/2) 68', 78'
 Report Try: Reimer 9' c
Van Nek 65' c
Con: Lynagh (1/1) 10'
McLaughlin-Phillips (1/1) 66'
Pen: Lynagh (1/1) 30'
 Referee: Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
England A:
Forwards – 1. Opoku-Fordjour 2. Oghre 3. Heyes 4. Tizard 5. Clark 6. Pearson 7. Pollock 8. Willis
Backs – 9. Porter 10. Atkinson 11. Ibitoye 12. Dingwall (c) 13. Beard 14. Murley 15. Carpenter
Substitutes – 16. Langdon 17. Iyogun 18. Fasogbon 19. Tuima 20. Fisilau 21. McParland 22. Shillcock 23. Muir
Australia A:
Forwards – 1. Hoopert 2. Nasser 3. De Lutiis 4. Smith 5. Canham 6. Hooper 7. Reimer 8. Brial
Backs – 9. R. Lonergan (c) 10. Lynagh 11. Lancaster 12. Stewart 13. Walton 14. Toole 15. Campbell
Substitutes – 16. L. Lonergan 17. Lambert 18. Van Nek 19. Blyth 20. Scott 21. Fines-Leleiwasa 22. McLaughlin-Phillips 23. Sapsford
23 February 2025 England A  28–12  Ireland A Ashton Gate, Bristol  
13:00 GMT (UTC+0) Try: Hassell-Collins 13' c
Van Poortvliet 25' c
Fisilau 74' c
Penalty try 80'
Con: Atkinson (2/2) 14', 26'
Shillcock (1/1) 75'
 Report Try: Bolton 17' m
Gavin 76' c
Con: Doak (1/1) 77'
Cards: Deegan Yellow card 80' 		Referee: Ben Breakspear (Wales)
England A:
Forwards – 1. Brantingham 2. Langdon (vc) 3. Kloska 4. Tizard 5. Lockett 6. Pearson 7. Kenningham 8. Barbeary
Backs – 9. Van Poortvliet (c) 10. Atkinson 11. Hassell-Collins 12. Butt 13. Ojomoh 14. Elliott 15. Carpenter
Substitutes – 16. Oghre 17. Haffar 18. Green 19. Capstick 20. Fisilau 21. Porter 22. Shillcock 23. Hendy
Ireland A:
Forwards – 1. O'Toole 2. Barron 3. Aungier 4. O'Connell 5. Murray 6. Deegan (c) 7. Kendellen 8. Jansen
Backs – 9. Doak 10. Frawley 11. Bolton 12. Gavin 13. Postlethwaite 14. O'Brien 15. Daly
Substitutes – 16. Smyth 17. McCarthy 18. Jager 19. O'Tighearnaigh 20. Soroka 21. Gunne 22. Byrne 23. Gleeson
21 June 2025 England XV  24–26  France XV Allianz Stadium, London  
15:15 BST (UTC+1) Try: Willis 23' c
Coles 27' m
Carpenter 39' c
Dombrandt 59' m
Con: Ford (2/4) 24', 40'
Cards: Feyi-Waboso Red card 33' 		Report Try: Barlot 6' m
Auradou 9' c
Malez 74' c
Taofifénua 80+1' c
Con: Le Garrec (1/2) 10'
Hastoy (2/2) 75', 80+2'
Cards: Woki Red card 55' 		Attendance: 34,129
Referee: Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
England XV:
Forwards – 1. Baxter 2. George (cc) 3. Heyes 4. Coles 5. Isiekwe 6. Hill 7. Pepper 8. Willis
Backs – 9. Spencer 10. Ford (cc) 11. Feyi-Waboso 12. Atkinson 13. Slade 14. Roebuck 15. Carpenter
Substitutes – 16. Dan 17. Rodd 18. Davison 19. Cunningham-South 20. Kenningham 21. Dombrandt 22. Quirke 23. Beard
France XV:
Forwards – 1. Erdocio 2. Barlot 3. Slimani 4. Auradou 5. Duguid 6. Fischer 7. Tixeront 8. Guillard
Backs – 9. Le Garrec 10. Hastoy 11. Duguivalu 12. Fickou (c) 13. Gailleton 14. Moustin 15. Attisogbe
Substitutes – 16. Marchand 17. Malez 18. Bamba 19. Taofifénua 20. Woki 21. Van Tonder 22. Jauneau 23. Berdeu
8 November 2025 England A  14–31  New Zealand XV The Recreation Ground, Bath[8]  
13:15 GMT (UTC+0) Try: Hodge 27' c
Batley 77' c
Con: Hodge (2/2) 28', 78'
 Report Try: Tangitau 11' m
Hannah 24' c
Jacomb 53' c
Reihana 63' c
Fakatava 75' m
Con: Jacomb (3/5) 25', 54', 64'
 Referee: Jérémy Rozier (France)
England A:
Forwards – 1. Iyogun 2. Blamire 3. Fasogbon 4. Lockett 5. Batley 6. Roots (c) 7. Pearson 8. Fisilau
Backs – 9. McParland 10. Atkinson 11. Hassell-Collins 12. Ojomoh 13. Hall 14. Caluori 15. Hodge
Substitutes – 16. Tuipulotu 17. Haffar 18. Sela 19. Bamber 20. Harding 21. Englefield 22. Ma'asi-White 23. Radwan
New Zealand XV:
Forwards – 1. Numia 2. McAlister 3. Dyer 4. Howden 5. Hannah 6. Flanders 7. Papali'i (c) 8. Lio-Willie
Backs – 9. Preston 10. Jacomb 11. Reece 12. Havili 13. Ennor 14. Tangitau 15. Fihaki
Substitutes – 16. Taylor 17. Fusitua 18. Lauaki 19. Beehre 20. Jacobson 21. Fakatava 22. Reihana 23. McLeod
15 November 2025 Spain  v  England A Estadio José Zorrilla, Valladolid[9]  
16:00 GMT (UTC+0) Referee: Morgan White (Hong Kong China)

Squad

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On 3 November 2025, England named their 'A' squad for their upcoming matches against the All Blacks XV and Spain, as part of the 2025 Autumn Nations Series.[10]

Note: Players capped at senior international level are listed in bold.
Caps and clubs correct as of: 3 November 2025.

Player Position Date of birth (age) Caps Club/province
Jamie Blamire Hooker (1997-12-22) 22 December 1997 (age 27) 7 England Leicester Tigers
Nathan Jibulu Hooker (2003-01-26) 26 January 2003 (age 22) 0 England Sale Sharks
Kepu Tuipulotu Hooker (2005-09-02) 2 September 2005 (age 20) 0 England Bath
Afolabi Fasogbon Prop (2004-08-24) 24 August 2004 (age 21) 0 England Gloucester
Tarek Haffar Prop (2001-09-13) 13 September 2001 (age 24) 0 England Leicester Tigers
Emmanuel Iyogun Prop (2000-11-24) 24 November 2000 (age 24) 0 England Northampton Saints
Ciaran Knight Prop (1998-03-18) 18 March 1998 (age 27) 0 England Gloucester
Billy Sela Prop (2005-04-12) 12 April 2005 (age 20) 0 England Bath
Ben Bamber Lock (2001-01-24) 24 January 2001 (age 24) 0 England Sale Sharks
Joe Batley Lock (1996-06-27) 27 June 1996 (age 29) 0 England Bristol Bears
Ewan Richards Lock (2002-04-06) 6 April 2002 (age 23) 0 England Bath
Olamide Sodeke Lock (2005-07-26) 26 July 2005 (age 20) 0 England Saracens
Greg Fisilau Back row (2003-07-09) 9 July 2003 (age 22) 0 England Exeter Chiefs
Fitz Harding Back row (1999-04-26) 26 April 1999 (age 26) 0 England Bristol Bears
Nathan Michelow Back row (2004-05-16) 16 May 2004 (age 21) 0 England Saracens
Tom Pearson Back row (1999-10-26) 26 October 1999 (age 26) 1 England Northampton Saints
Ethan Roots Back row (1997-11-10) 10 November 1997 (age 27) 4 England Exeter Chiefs
Caolan Englefield Scrum-half (1999-11-01) 1 November 1999 (age 26) 0 England Gloucester
Archie McParland Scrum-half (2005-02-17) 17 February 2005 (age 20) 0 England Northampton Saints
Charlie Atkinson Fly-half (2001-10-06) 6 October 2001 (age 24) 1 England Gloucester
Jamie Benson Fly-half (2002-09-23) 23 September 2002 (age 23) 0 England Harlequins
Angus Hall Centre (2005-09-17) 17 September 2005 (age 20) 0 England Saracens
Sean Kerr Centre (2004-11-08) 8 November 2004 (age 21) 0 England Harlequins
Rekeiti Ma'asi-White Centre (2003-02-03) 3 February 2003 (age 22) 0 England Sale Sharks
Max Ojomoh Centre (2000-09-14) 14 September 2000 (age 25) 1 England Bath
Noah Caluori Wing (2006-09-22) 22 September 2006 (age 19) 0 England Saracens
Tobias Elliott Wing (2003-09-16) 16 September 2003 (age 22) 0 England Saracens
Ollie Hassell-Collins Wing (1999-01-17) 17 January 1999 (age 26) 2 England Leicester Tigers
Adam Radwan Wing (1997-12-30) 30 December 1997 (age 27) 2 England Leicester Tigers
Josh Hodge Fullback (2000-05-23) 23 May 2000 (age 25) 0 England Exeter Chiefs

References

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  1. ^ "England Saxons revert to England A". www.bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  2. ^ Coles, Ben (25 June 2021). "England 'A' team to face Scotland 'A': Eleven uncapped players, a new captain and two Saxons survivors". www.telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union. The Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  3. ^ "England A vs Scotland A called off due to Covid cases in the Scotland squad". www.skysports.com/rugby-union. Sky Sports. 27 June 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  4. ^ Powell, Nick (7 November 2023). "England 'A' to get first run out since 2016 against Portugal". www.therugbypaper.co.uk. The Rugby Paper. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  5. ^ "England A take Portugal to the cleaners in Leicester". www.rugbypass.com. Rugby Pass. 25 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  6. ^ Hardy, Matt (17 November 2024). "England A beat Australia A at Twickenham Stoop". www.cityam.com. City A.M. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  7. ^ "England A becomes England Saxons". www.rfu.com. Rugby Football Union. 18 May 2006. Archived from the original on 27 September 2012.
  8. ^ "England A to face All Blacks XV in November". www.englandrugby.com. England Rugby. 12 August 2025. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  9. ^ "England A coaches announced for All Blacks XV and Spain fixtures". www.englandrugby.com. England Rugby. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 8 October 2025.
  10. ^ "England Men A confirm match week squad to play All Blacks XV". www.englandrugby.com. England Rugby. 3 November 2025. Retrieved 3 November 2025.
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