Nick Cain: England need Saxons to be battle-hardened

The Saxons should be a huge influence in building an England team, so that the head coach never runs out of seasoned tightheads – as Stuart Lancaster is in danger of doing in this Six Nations campaign if Dan Cole is injured – or players in any of the other 14 positions on the pitch.
It should be an experimental team where the England coaches can try out combinations and tactical deployments that otherwise they can only wonder about. If that was the case it would eradicate the harum-scarum scenario of only ever seeing a combination, such as Billy Twelvetrees and Luther Burrell, at work on a training field before they are asked to deliver in an arena like the Stade de France.
However hard coaches try to replicate Test match conditions in training it is an impossible task. The big match atmosphere, the jangling nerves, the unfamiliar surroundings, the sleepless night before a first selection for your country at senior level, cannot be recreated.
That is why the Saxons offers a level, with their move up in intensity, which is such an essential stepping stone for players and coaches alike.
All of which makes it difficult to understand why the Saxons are being completely and utterly underemployed with less than two years to go before England host the biggest World Cup ever staged.
For the last few seasons, when England's new coaching set-up under Lancaster has urgently needed to see the players they have selected in the Saxons pressing their case for promotion, there have been just two games, against the Irish Wolfhounds and Scotland A.
And that with England still very much a work in progress.
The RFU will argue, with some justification, that the lack of fixtures at Saxons level is not of their making, largely because Wales, France and Italy have dispensed with their A teams and concentrated their resources at Under 20 level instead.
However, it is time that the RFU took the initiative and secured the Saxons at least six games a season. There are very good reasons for an elite tier between U20 and senior international rugby.
Frequently we see promising international U20 players disappear from sight for four for five seasons, having spent the majority of that time sitting on the bench on match days, or pumping iron during the week, rather than playing rugby.
The upshot is that when they do eventually get their chance on the big stage the flaws in their tactical awareness, or in their ability to read the game, or even how to give and take a pass in pressure situations, is lacking.
If the other Six Nations Unions outside the English, Scots and Irish fail to see the benefits of international A team fixtures, then those three countries should forge a new alliances – and with the South Africans in particular.
The match yesterday between Saracens and the (Natal) Sharks at Allianz Park has highlighted that there is a three-week window of preparation for South African Super 15 teams before the start of their tournament in mid-February, in which they could play sides such as the Saxons.
Until three years ago there was also the Churchill Cup, where the Saxons played against sides like the USA, Canada and Italy A during the summer tour window, but that was discounted after the North Americans were included in new IRB regional tournaments.
However, the reality was that the benefits for the Saxons were limited, mainly because the opposition were not at the same level. The exception to the rule were the New Zealand Maori, who were occasional but very welcome participants in the Churchill Cup.
Anyone looking for a reminder of the competitive edge between the two sides should take a look at Tom Croft's sensational 60 metre Churchill Cup-winning try against the Maori at Twickenham in 2007.
An annual summer series against a team of the calibre of the Maori would not only attract decent crowds, it would be of huge benefit to the Saxons.
The Saxons could be an invaluable asset for England, but only if they are a team with a strong, clear identity and purpose that plays truly competitive fixtures more than twice a year.