Nostalgia just ain’t what it used to be! by columnist Nora Johnson

IN the latest diversity drive, Rugby chiefs have scrapped using the ‘inappropriate’ nickname ‘Saxons’ for England’s second team which will revert to the name ‘England A’ after 15 years of being branded as the England Saxons.

This in the wake of the RFU’s decision to distance itself from ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,’ the slave spiritual adopted as a terrace anthem by England rugby supporters.

What is wrong with these people? Are we going to force Sussex (South Saxons) and Essex (East Saxons) to change the names of their counties because the name doesn’t describe the people who live there or discriminates against residents who can’t trace their ancestry to the Saxons? The RFU does realise that England derives from the land of the Angles, right?

Yes, rugby may need to be more inclusive but a mindless name change won’t help. This is just more absurd and pointless ‘wokery’ on steroids. Saxons are part of our history so why should we be ashamed of their cultural impact, and how does the name ‘Saxon’ stop non-white people from playing rugby? The corollary being we should maybe scrap using the word ‘England’, because presumably that name will trigger some with its associations with Empire and being white British?

Maybe, too, we should refrain from any competitive sport as it will hurt the feelings of the loser. The alternative is to withdraw players from the ‘winning’ (dreadful word!) side until the scores are level when the game stops.

And what about ‘A’? Isn’t ‘A’ discriminatory and elitist? Where does it leave all the other letters of the alphabet? Are they inferior? What about all those letters people use to describe themselves today? Are all those letters, and people they denote, to be excluded? I feel offended on behalf of B, C, D etc.

Seriously, do you remember when we were allowed a sense of humour? When we could disagree with someone without being accused of a hate crime, or sexism, or racism or some other -ism?

Truly, nostalgia ain’t what it used to be… England Saxons

Nora Johnson’s psychological crime thrillers ‘The Sentinel’, ‘No Safe Place’, ‘Betrayal’, ‘The Girl in the Woods’, ‘The Girl in the Red Dress’, ‘No Way Back’, ‘Landscape of Lies’, ‘Retribution’, ‘Soul Stealer’, ‘The De Clerambault Code’ (www.nora-johnson.net) available online as eBook (€0.99; £0.99), Apple Books, paperback and audiobook. All profits to Costa del Sol Cudeca cancer charity.  

Nora Johnson’s opinions are her own and are not necessarily representative of those of the publishers, advertisers, or sponsors.