The Saxons is the final stepping stone to full international honours and fans will see some of the country's finest emerging talents hoping to follow in the footsteps of Nick Abendanon, Nick Easter, David Strettle, Shane Geraghty, James Haskell and Mike Brown who all stepped up to senior honours after pulling on the Saxons shirt last season. World Cup winger Paul Sackey also secured his place in France on the back of his performance in the Barclays Churchill Cup Final in June.
Tigers were well represented at this level last season, too, with Tom Croft and Jordan Crane playing the Churchill Cup, while Ayoola Erinle and Richard Blaze were also involved before starting their first pre-season with Leicester.
After kicking off their season at Welford Road, the Saxons will then play Italy A in Sicily on Saturday, February 9 as a final warm-up before travelling to Canada to defend their Barclays Churchill Cup crown in June.
Conor O'Shea, the RFU director of the national academy, said: "The England Saxons set-up plays a crucial role in developing future internationals. After the Under 20s, Sevens and the Guinness Premiership, the Saxons is the final step of the development pathway which enables us to identify those players with the capability and mentality to play international rugby.
"Last year's squad firmly re-established the Saxons within this pathway and we will be looking to continue that progress throughout this season."
Last year's Saxons squad recorded victories over Italy A (24-5), Ireland A (32-5) and New Zealand Maori (17-13) on the way to claiming the Barclays Churchill Cup at Twickenham.
Tickets for the first England international at this level to be held at Welford Road for 10 years are on sale now from the Tigers ticket office on 08701 28 34 30 or http://www.leicestertigers.com/ priced from £20 for adults and £8 for juniors. Discount prices are available to season ticket holders and members booking in person or by phone before December 10.
