England Saxons team: Nick Abendanon, Ugo Monye, Ollie Smith, Anthony Allen, Matt Banahan, Ryan Lamb, Paul Hodgson, Alex Clarke, George Chuter, Jack Forster, Chris Jones, George Skivington, Chris Robshaw, Will Skinner (capt), Jordan Crane. Replacements: Andy Titterrell, Tom French, Stuart Hooper, Steffon Armitage, Lee Dickson, Adrian Jarvis, Ben Foden.
Scotland A team: Steve Jones, Mark Robertson, Rob Dewey, Calum MacRae, Roland Reid, Gordon Ross, Colin Gregor, Ed Kalman, Fergus Thomson (capt), David Young, Fergus Pringle, Dan Turner, James Eddie, Alan MacDonald, Stevie Swindall. Replacements: Andrew Kelly, Stuart Corsar, Jon Dunbar, Scott Newlands, Mark McMillan, David Blair, Jim Thompson
(Coverage is on Sky Sports 2, 7.45pm)
If you were just playing the “who’s name do I recognise” game between the two teams, you’d likely soil yourself. Indeed regular followers of Edinburgh and Glasgow might still be pushed to identify some of these chaps, where as the Saxons side is packed with guys in top form in the GP. But as Al and I were commenting the other day – and has been proven amongst otherwise dismal results for the national team over the last few years – a Scotland vs England match sees the formbook (but hopefully not the rulebook) thrown out the window. If Thomson leads the pack from the front, and RobDeweyTime, Gregor and Ross have a good game, there’s hope for us. If Banahan, Hodgson or Lamb get too much quick ball it may be curtains. Here’s hoping that the A team can keep the positive up-swing at the end of the season going.
