• Simon Hardy and Andy Farrell named as Saxons Assistant Coaches for upcoming games
• Saxons face Ireland A and Italy A on successive weekends

Simon Hardy, a National Academy coach and a member of England’s successful RWC 2003 campaign, and Andy Farrell the Skills and Backs Coach at Saracens, have been appointed the Saxons Assistant Coaches.

Elite Rugby Director Rob Andrew and England Saxons Head Coach Stuart Lancaster have made the appointments ahead of the forthcoming internationals against Ireland A and Italy A.

Hardy and Farrell take up their part time appointments with immediate effect. Farrell played 34 times for Great Britain before changing codes to Union in 2005 and becoming part of England’s RWC 2007 squad winning eight caps.

England Saxons Head Coach Stuart Lancaster said “Simon and Andy will ensure we have a very strong coaching team in place as we prepare and plan for two very tough matches against Ireland on January 31 at Bath (2.30pm kick off) and Italy in Treviso the following Sunday (1.30pm kick off, local time). The Ireland game will be the first time we have played each other since our loss in the 2009 Churchill Cup final and I’m sure the game will once again be a very good test for our players.

“Simon has a wealth of experience coaching the forwards and in his specialist area of the line out and Andy has been a key part of Saracens success this season and I’m delighted both are joining the Saxons squad.”

Andy Farrell said “It will be great to be involved with England again and I’m looking forward to working with Stuart, Simon and the squad when we meet up in the week building up to the Ireland game.”

Simon Hardy said “The Saxons have developed into a very strong squad and both games will provide us with a huge challenge. There are some very promising forwards coming through the Elite Player pathway and our aim is to continue the player’s development within the Saxons environment.”

The England Saxons v Ireland A game will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Over 3,000 tickets for the England Saxons v Ireland ‘A’ on January 31 have already been sold and they are available by calling ticketmaster on 0844 448 1865 or www.ticketmaster.co.uk. Ticket prices start from £17 for adults and £7 for children.