THE rebranded Southend Saxons will be officially launched at their Warners Bridge base this weekend.

The rugby club opted to rename their first team during the summer.

And a special lunch, which is being attended by England goalscoring legend Jimmy Greaves and ex-Southend United manager Steve Tilson, will be taking place ahead of Saturday’s National Two South home clash with Dorking to celebrate the new identity.

“It promises to be a really good day and we already have quite a few people signed up to the lunch that’s taking place before the game,” said Southend’s marketing director Nathan Strange.

“It’s great that Jimmy Greaves and Steve Tilson are both coming down and we hope to have some of Kris Chesney’s former Saracens team-mates attending as well.

“It’s a big day for us and we’re delighted with how the rebranding has gone so far.”

Southend opted to add the Saxons to their name due to the discovery of the Saxon king, whose burial site was discovered in Prittlewell back in 2003.

Southend’s National Two South rivals Taunton Titans, Cornish All Blacks and Henley Hawks have already changed their names.

And Strange felt something similar was required at Warners Bridge.

“We needed something a bit more sexy and Saxons really fitted the bill,” said Strange.

“We’ve got a new logo which looks very professional and it all makes for an exciting new chapter for the club.”

The lunch gets under way at 1pm this Saturday and places can still be booked by emailing srfc.marketing@gmail.com.

The match with Dorking, which will see Southend looking to get back to winning ways after last weekend’s 31-13 defeat at Henley, then kicks-off at 2.30pm.

Live music will also be taking place in the clubhouse once the game ends.