England Saxons train at University of Bath
England Rugby’s Saxons Elite Player Squad are being put through their paces at a three-day training camp at the University of Bath.
The squad are training at the University ahead of Saturday’s opening game of the season against Italy A at Worcester.
Among the Saxons’ coaching team is former Bath and England full-back Jon Callard, who scored all of Bath’s points as they won the 1998 Heineken Cup Final.
“I have many happy memories of being in Bath. I used to train at the University in the morning and then again after work in my early days at Bath,” he said.
“The University has changed dramatically. It has great facilities in a vibrant environment. It’s got a good buzz about it and that makes it easier to work in when you’ve only got a small amount of time with the players.”
Callard predicts the Italians will present a tough test. “Italy A will be tough. The average age of our group is 23 and will be an interesting exercise to see how they do away from their club environment. They will have to come out and grow in stature.”
England Saxons are the latest in a long line of elite teams to train at the University of Bath. In November the New Zealand All Blacks rugby union team trained at the University ahead of their autumn international against Wales, while the England women’s team trained at the University in July last year ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Team Bath has also hosted training camps for the South African Springboks, the Great Britain rugby league team, and Nottingham Forest and Coventry City football teams, among others.
The University was selected by ParalympicsGB to host its preparation camps in the lead-up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
For further information please contact the TeamBath press office at Matchtight Ltd on 01225 383518 or 07765 071683.
