Prem U18 fixtures

[Epaminondas Pules]

Interesting that they still call the academies of clubs gone to the wall by their name rather than midlands academy etc

Wednesday, 23 August South Pool
Exeter Chiefs Academy 12:00 Saracens Academy

Thursday, 24 August North Pool
Yorkshire Carnegie Academy 14:00 Wasps Academy

Friday, 25 August North Pool
Northampton Saints Academy 12:00 Leicester Tigers Academy

Saturday, 26 August South Pool
Bath Rugby Academy 12:15 Bristol Academy
London Irish Academy 13:00 Gloucester Rugby Academy

Saturday, 26 August North Pool
Worcester Warriors Academy 15:00 Sale Sharks Academy

Friday, 1 September South Pool
Harlequins Academy 13:00 London Irish Academy

Friday, 1 September North Pool
Northampton Saints Academy 13:00 Yorkshire Carnegie Academy
Leicester Tigers Academy 15:00 Sale Sharks Academy

Saturday, 2 September South Pool
Saracens Academy 14:00 Bath Rugby Academy

Saturday, 2 September North Pool
Wasps Academy 15:30 Newcastle Falcons Academy

Sunday, 3 September South Pool
Bristol Academy 14:00 Gloucester Rugby Academy

Saturday, 6 January South Pool
Bath Rugby Academy V Exeter Chiefs Academy
Gloucester Rugby Academy V Harlequins Academy
Saracens Academy V London Irish Academy

Saturday, 6 January North Pool
Newcastle Falcons Academy V Leicester Tigers Academy
Sale Sharks Academy V Northampton Saints Academy
Wasps Academy V Worcester Warriors Academy

Saturday, 13 January South Pool
Bath Rugby Academy V London Irish Academy
Bristol Academy V Saracens Academy
Exeter Chiefs Academy V Harlequins Academy

Saturday, 13 January North Pool
Leicester Tigers Academy V Yorkshire Carnegie Academy
Sale Sharks Academy V Newcastle Falcons Academy
Worcester Warriors Academy V Northampton Saints Academy

Saturday, 20 January South Pool
Exeter Chiefs Academy V Gloucester Rugby Academy
Harlequins Academy V Bath Rugby Academy
London Irish Academy V Bristol Academy

Saturday, 20 January North Pool
Newcastle Falcons Academy V Worcester Warriors Academy
Wasps Academy V Northampton Saints Academy
Yorkshire Carnegie Academy V Sale Sharks Academy

Saturday, 3 February South Pool
Gloucester Rugby Academy V Saracens Academy
Harlequins Academy V Bristol Academy
London Irish Academy V Exeter Chiefs Academy

Saturday, 3 February North Pool
Newcastle Falcons Academy V Yorkshire Carnegie Academy
Sale Sharks Academy V Wasps Academy
Worcester Warriors Academy V Leicester Tigers Academy

Saturday, 10 February South Pool
Bristol Academy V Exeter Chiefs Academy
Gloucester Rugby Academy V Bath Rugby Academy
Saracens Academy V Harlequins Academy

Saturday, 10 February North Pool
Leicester Tigers Academy V Wasps Academy
Northampton Saints Academy V Newcastle Falcons Academy
Yorkshire Carnegie Academy V Worcester Warriors Academy

[Epaminondas Pules]

Saints best Tigers 75 v 7!!!

Saints lineup. The tighthead is pretty good :
15 Edoardo Todaro
14 Ben Agbenu
13 Callum Lodder
12 Billy Pasco
11 Rafe Witheat
10 Louis Haley
9 Johnathan Weimann

1 Tom Dye
2 Robert Gaffan
3 Sonny Tonga'uiha
4 Thomas Ross
5 James Barrett
6 Rhys Harries
7 Kieran Perkins
8 Alfie Hoyles

Replacements
16 Kahnoa Lilo
17 Norbert Zastawnik
18 Archie Appleby
19 Harry Price
20 Ben Currie
21 Will Tinley
22 Louis Burns

[Epaminondas Pules]

Saints highlights:

https://x.com/saintsrugby/status/169577 ... IjUZPGY9HQ

[Epaminondas Pules]

Midlands West (Worcester) 22 v 22 Sale
London and South Central (Irish) 36 v 33 Gloucester

[fivepointer]

Exeter 44 Saracens 27
Bristol 27 Bath 29

Good result for Exe whose u18s have been pretty poor over the last few seasons.

[Epaminondas Pules]

From NextGen:

The U18 Academy League second round takes place this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, following on from a thrilling opening round last weekend.



Four of the six games were decided by three points of fewer, with Midlands West and Sale Sharks actually drawing.



Round 1 Results



North

Midlands West 22-22 Sale Sharks

Northampton Saints 75-7 Leicester Tigers

Yorkshire Academy 31-33 Midlands Central



South

Bath 29-27 Bristol Bears

Exeter Chiefs 44-27 Saracens

South Central London 36-33 Gloucester



It was a tough day at the office for Leicester Tigers, however this week they are sure to be buoyed as they head to Welford Road to host on Sale Sharks as part of a double header that will also see their senior side host Nottingham in a pre-season friendly.



Elsewhere though, things were tight, that draw between Midlands West and Sale Sharks, a tight win at Yorkshire Academy for Midlands Central, and an equally tight one for Bath at home to Bristol Bears, similarly for the reigning champions, London South Central Academy, who edged out Gloucester.



Exeter Chiefs, who have a bye this week, were on song against Saracens, but a Saracens side that this week sees the return of four key players that were absent after their England U18 commitments.



Round 2 Fixtures & Team News



North



Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks (Friday 1st September, 3pm)



Tigers, as mentioned, look to bounce back from last week and have the inspiration of Welford Road and a double header with the 1st XV to help them along the way. They are led by back row Ralphie Willott, who will lead the charge against a Sale Sharks side that sees England U18 internationals Dom Hanson and Jack Lightbown return to the side at scrum half and number 8 respectively.



Sale are also led by a flanker, openside Seb Kelly, and as well as Hanson and Lightbown they bring in Ben Firth at outside centre and Dan Rabbette inside him, Ben Lilley at loosehead, and Will Bennett at blindside. England U18 fly half Ollie Davies is on the bench as he makes his comeback from injury.



Leicester Tigers:

15 Ethan Blackmore, 14 Yaw Afirifah-Mensah, 13 Harvey Nkrumah, 12 Oliver Docherty, 11 Tobias Spencer, 10 James Egerton, 9 Jack Dickens, 1 Bronson Mellows, 2 Finlay Hayward, 3 Ben Beere, 4 Tate Skinner, 5 Joshua Brahoua, 6 Ralphie Willott (c), 7 Lawrence Adediran, 8 George Marsh.

Replacements: 16 Fergus Hanna, 17 Euan Fern, 18 Max Oliver, 19 Sam Byrd, 20 Archie Greenhalgh, 21 Jonty Nickols, 22 Freddie Snary, 23 Joe Masunda.



Sale Sharks:

15 Billy Birkett, 14 Sebi Krippner, 13 Ben Firth, 12 Dan Rabbette, 11 Fraser Rossiter, 10 Rhys Hulse, 9 Dom Hanson, 1 Ben Lilley, 2 Tom Davis, 3 Leon Tahana, 4 Josh Gibbons, 5 Jos Gilmore, 6 Will Bennett, 7 Seb Kelly (c), 8 Jack Lightbown.

Replacements: 16 H Kent-Mannion, 17 Noah Lawton, 18 Cian Jackson, 19 Ben Hartigan, 20 Ruben Reed, 21 Will Holmes, 22 Ollie Davies, 23 Sam Lewtas.



Northampton Saints v Yorkshire Academy (Friday 1st September, 1pm)



Northampton Saints and Yorkshire Academy are also in action on Friday, Saints will be buoyant after their derby victory over Leicester Tigers last time out and unsurprisingly do not make too many changes. Ben Agbenu moves from the wing to outside centre, with Louis Burns promoted from the bench to the wing, while Harry Price is also promoted from the bench, he starts at openside. Oscar Lile and Preston McFarlane make their way onto the bench after missing out last time.



Yorkshire meanwhile, after a promising display in their opener, welcome back England U18 pair Louie Platt and Alfie Longstaff. Mount St Mary’s College’s Platt starts at fly half, while Woodhouse Grove’s Longstaff starts at flanker, showing his versatility after playing at hooker for England. Queen Ethelburga’s Seb Easterby-Gray retains the captaincy and the hooking berth. Platt’s arrival sees George Brown of Barnard Castle move to full back, while there are some fresh faces on the bench too, Hill House’s Harry Tunningley, Ampleforth’s Joshua Oke, Wellington College’s Lloyd McEwan-Peters, and Woodhouse Grove’s Callum Hyland-Dugbo.



Northampton Saints:

15 Edoardo Todaro, 14 Louis Burns, 13 Ben Agbenu, 12 Billy Pasco (c), 11 Rafe Witheat, 10 Louis Haley, 9 Jonathan Weimann, 1 Tom Dye, 2 Robert Gaffan, 3 Sonny Tonga’uhia, 4 Thomas Ross, 5 James Barrett, 6 Rhys Harries, 7 Harry Price, 8 Alfie Hoyles.

Replacements: 16 Kahnoa Lilo, 17 Norbert Zastawnik, 18 Archie Appleby, 19 Oscar Lile, 20 Ben Currie, 21 Will Tinley, 22 Preston McFarlane.



Yorkshire Academy:

15 George Brown (Barnard Castle), 14 Finaly Green (Harrogate Grammar), 13 Jack Wilson (Harrogate Grammar), 12 Isaac Firth (Birkdale), 11 Thomas Rowe (Woodhouse Grove), 10 Louie Platt (Mount St Mary’s College), 9 Gabriel Horberry (Harrogate Grammar), 1 Lucas Oxley (St Peter’s, York), 2 Seb Easterby-Gray (Queen Ethelburga’s, captain), 3 Will Farr (Bishop Burton College), 4 Callum Russell (Bishop Burton College), 5 Anthony McCormack (Bishop Burton College), 6 Alfie Longstaff (Woodhouse Grove), 7 Archie Hurford (Woodhouse Grove), 8 Oliver Spencer (Grammar School at Leeds).

Replacements: 16 Harry Tunningley (Hill House), 17 Luca Foster (Bishop Burton College), 18 Sam Bland (Bishop Burton College), 19 Joshua Oke (Ampleforth College), 20 Oliver Owuor (Lady Lumley’s), 21 Rylie Bonsall (Mount St Mary’s College), 22 Lloyd McEwan-Peters (Wellington College), 23 Callum Hyland-Dugbo (Woodhouse Grove).



Midlands Central v Newcastle Falcons (Saturday 2nd September, 3.30pm)



Midlands Central and Newcastle Falcons are yet to publish their teams for Saturday’s game, but Midlands Central will be eager to continue their good start to the season after a 33-31 victory at Yorkshire. Newcastle Falcons meanwhile will be itching to get out, they had a bye last week.



South



Bristol Bears v Gloucester (Sunday 3rd September, 2pm)



Neither Bristol nor Gloucester have published their teams yet for Sunday’s clash, but after tight defeats for both last time out, they would love to lay down a marker in this fixture ahead of the four month break until the league picks up against in January.



Harlequins v South Central London (Friday 1st September, 1pm)



It’s a first game of the season for Quins after a bye last week, though they did take on Newcastle in a friendly last weekend. They are led by co-captains Isaac Buck of Newman College at hooker and Rory Minton of Seaford College at inside centre. Among those that they can call on are England U18 pair Jamie Miller, the Whitgift loosehead, and Ronan Daniell, the Hurstpierpoint College man starts at number 8. Look out also for Gordon’s Zuko Robb on the bench, who had to pull out of the England squad due to injury.



London South Central won the league last year as London Irish and got their defence off to a strong start with a thrilling victory over Gloucester last time out. They also have some returning England U18 starts, Harrow pair Kepueli Tuipulotu and Charlie Griffin, at hooker and outside centre respectively. They have a couple of other changes too, Freddy Rossigneux and Sam Winters swap positions, while Finn Keylock comes in at fly half, Otto Bennett gets a start at loosehead and Oliver Agar comes in to the second row. Henry Dargan is an addition to the bench from outside of the squad last week.



Harlequins:

15 Elliott Southworth (Hartpury College), 14 Izaak Manuel (Eton College), 13 Henry Williams (Brighton College), 12 Rory Minton (Seaford College, co-captain), 11 Max Farrell (Trinity), 10 Ben Webb (Gordon’s), 9 Fergus Callington (Whitgift), 1 Jamie Miller (Whitgift), 2 Isaac Buck (Newman College, co-captain), 3 Connor Van Lille (Newman College), 4 James Davies (Brighton College), 5 Elliot Williams (Gordon’s), 6 Quinn Singh (Trinity), 7 Sam Worne (Whitgift), 8 Ronan Daniell (Hurstpierpoint College).

Replacements: 16 N/A, 17 Ethan Manzi (Gordon’s), 18 Ollie Streeter (Gordon’s), 19 Fin Healey (Gordon’s), 20 Ashton Graham (Gordon’s), 21 Sam Cowman (Hartpury College), 22 Felix Bateman-Champain (Worth), 23 Zuko Robb (Gordon’s).



London South Central:

15 Freddy Rossigneux, 14 Sam Winters, 13 Charlie Griffin, 12 Filip Edstrom, 11 Tyler Offiah (vc), 10 Finn Keylock, 9 George Harris, 1 Otto Bennett, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 3 Hunter Dean-Johns, 4 Rory McKnight (vc), 5 Oliver Agar, 6 John Edwards, 7 Reggie Hammick (c), 8 Edward Bachelor.

Replacements: 16 Martin Chalmers, 17 Charlie Hoyler, 18 Isaac Sprenger, 19 Will May, 20 Henry Dargan, 21 Aidan Pugh, 22 Ben Littlefair, 23 Maximus Winter.



Saracens v Bath (Saturday 2nd September, 2pm)



Saracens, as mention, have four England U18 starts returning to their ranks as they look to bounce back from defeat to Exeter Chiefs last time out. Finn Newton of Haileybury comes in at full back, with Judd’s Angus Hall at inside centre alongside St Albans’ Jack Bracken, his schoolmate Tayo Adegbemile comes into the second row. Those four are the only changes to the starting fifteen, though Kitchen and Rawlins are additions to the bench.



Bath are yet to announce their side as they look to make it back to back victories after their derby win over Bristol Bears last time out.



Saracens:

15 F Newton, 14 B Morrow, 13 J Bracken, 12 A Hall, 11 R Varona Blakstad, 10 A Nagele, 9 W Howard, 1 J Twigg, 2 L Young, 3 F Bloomer, 4 C Barker, 5 T Adegbemile, 6 G Nott (c), 7 E Alliott, 8 F White.

Replacements: 16 F Kitchen, 17 O Gillett, 18 R Burke, 19 L Golding, 20 J Marshall, 21 F Bracken-Smith, 22 F Rawlins, 23 A Stewart-Harris.



Bath: TBC

[jimKRFC]

Bristol Bears v Gloucester (Sunday 3rd September, 2pm)

Bristol ran away with it 49 - 12

BEARS U18: Try: Phillips 7, Boshoff 14, 30, Bowen 19, Hill 23, Pearce 38, Davis 64. Cons: Fielder 7, 14, 19, 23, 30, 38, 64

GLOUCESTER U18: Try: Lilwall 33, Phillips 48. Cons: Fortey 33

highlights here:

[Margin_Walker]

Harlequins U18 35-25 London & South Central Academy

5 tries a piece. Difference was from the tee for the conversions. Quins 5/5, London & South Central Academy (catchy name) 0/5

[Which Tyler]

Sorry, I forgot we had a thread on this - busty with the RWC doom and gloom.
Some highlights from Bathlets

V Bristol



V Saracens

[Epaminondas Pules]

Bristol Bears v Gloucester (Sunday 3rd September, 2pm)

Bristol ran away with it 49 - 12

BEARS U18: Try: Phillips 7, Boshoff 14, 30, Bowen 19, Hill 23, Pearce 38, Davis 64. Cons: Fielder 7, 14, 19, 23, 30, 38, 64

GLOUCESTER U18: Try: Lilwall 33, Phillips 48. Cons: Fortey 33

highlights here:

Boshoff is proper lively! Awful lid mind!!

Fielder and Davis look mighty fine prospects!

[Epaminondas Pules]

The 2023/24 U18 Academy League returns this weekend for Round 3, with four further rounds of action over the next five weeks, culminating in Finals Day at Kingsholm on the 18th February.



The Academy League began in August with the opening two rounds of the campaign. Without any England players available there was an unfamiliar feel to some games, but despite that some very clear early big performances – not least from Northampton Saints, who won two from two, including a stunning 75-7 victory over Leicester Tigers, who did bounce back against Sale Sharks in Round 2.



Midlands Central also won two from two, with a tight victory over Yorkshire Academy and a good performance against Newcastle Falcons.



In the Southern Conference Bath took two from two, beating local rivals Bristol Bears in a cracker in their opening game before following that up with a good away win at Saracens. The other two unbeaten sides in the South Group are Exeter Chiefs and Harlequins, who each had a bye in one round but won their only fixture, Exeter winning at home against Saracens and Harlequins winning 35-25 at home to London & South Central.



Round 3 Fixtures (6th/7th January) – Team News to Follow



North

Midlands Central v Midlands West – Saturday, Warwick School, 2pm

Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers – Saturday, Kingston Park, 2pm

Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints – Sunday, Heywood Road, 1pm

Yorkshire Academy – Bye



It’s derby day on Saturday for the RFU Midlands Academy, with Midlands Central, the former Wasps Academy, hosting Midlands West, the old Worcester Warriors Academy, at Warwick School. Central will be looking to make it three from three while West are looking for a first victory of the campaign after a bye and an exciting draw with Sale Sharks.



Also on Saturday there is action at Kingston Park, where Newcastle Falcons look for a first victory of this year’s league, their defeat to Midlands Central was their only game of the summer as they had a bye in the other round. Coming to face them are Leicester Tigers, who will be eager to show that their performance against Sale in the summer, rather than Saints, was the true version of themselves.



The Round 3 action in the North Group concludes on Sunday at Heywood Road when pace-setters Northampton Saints head to take on Sale Sharks. Three from three would be outstanding from Saints, while for Sale the hope is for a first victory of the campaign after a draw and a defeat.



South

Bath v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday, Chippenham RFC, 2pm

Gloucester v Harlequins – Saturday, Kingsholm, 1pm

Saracens v London South Central – Saturday, StoneX, 1pm

Bristol Bears – Bye



In the South Bath will look to make it three from three at Chippenham RFC, they host an Exeter Chiefs side that will be eager to continue their one victory from one game record this weekend. Expect one of the games of the weekend.



Along at Kingsholm, the venue for the Finals of the U18 Academy this year, Gloucester, who are looking for a first victory of the campaign, will host a promising Harlequins side that have won their sole game of the league so far.



StoneX will host as well this weekend as Saracens, who are also searching for a first victory of this year’s league, host London & South Central, the old London Irish Academy, who had two thrillers in the opening rounds, a tight 36-33 victory over Gloucester, and a 35-25 defeat to Harlequins. Don’t be surprised to see more fireworks on Saturday, then.



Team News



Midlands Central



15 George Pearson (City of Oxford College), 14 Austin Nevitt (Fairfax Academy), 13 Thomas Cunningham (Magdalen College), 12 Elis Thomas (City of Oxford College), 11 Emosi Nabakeke (Queen Ethelburga’s), 10 Charlie Mason (St Edward’s, Oxford, vc), 9 Kieran Edwards (City of Oxford College), 1 George Alexander (City of Oxford College), 2 Oskar Parker (Henley College), 3 Sam Scott (City of Oxford College, captain), 4 Ade Oyeyemi (Henley College), 5 Ethan Surrey (City of Oxford College), 6 John Baldwin (Bloxham), 7 Matt Bridge (City of Oxford College), 8 Harry Bewley (St George’s, Harpenden).



Replacements: Michael Onobhayedo (Magdalen College), L Asatiani-Kalandadze (Bishop Vesey’s GS), Drew Johnson (City of Oxford College), Will Diver (Rugby), Diamond Ayiehfor (Warwick), Jayden Wrottesley (City of Oxford College), Harry Eckersall (Wellington College), Charlie Morgan-Stephens (Magdalen College).



Midlands West



15 Jacob Reynolds (Stourport HS), 14 Brendan Colley (Bromsgrove), 13 David-Florian Petrescu (Newport HS), 12 Henry Parsons (Bromsgrove), 11 Ellis Deans-Smith (Hartpury College), 10 Ned Collins (Hereford 6thform College), 9 Osian Catlin (Millfield), 1 Will Conduit (Stourport HS), 2 George Knowles (Hereford Cathedral School), 3 Lewys Perkins (Stourport HS), 4 Tom Hilton (Malvern College), 5 Dan Halkon (RGS Worcester), 6 Jack Gilbert (Bromsgrove), 7 Harvey Leonard (Ellesmere College), 8 Fintan Dowling (KES Birmingham, captain).



Replacements: Jeremey Akena (Stourport HS), Harry Wright (Stourport HS), Robin Jorden (KES Birmingham), Ewan Tulloch (Ellesmere College), Harrison Osbourne (Bromsgrove), Tom Roberts (Hartpury College), Harry Pemberton (Solihull), Haydn Lewis (Hartpury College).



Newcastle Falcons



15 Tom Katory (Dame Allan’s), 14 Oli Stanley (Barnard Castle), 13 Osea Navuso (Richmond 6th form College), 12 Josh Farley (Gosforth Academy), 11 Huw Lloyd (Gosforth Academy), 10 Junior Newton (Sedbergh), 9 Joe Davis (Barnard Castle), 1 Harvey Headlam (Hartlepool 6th form), 2 Ryan Shaw (Gosforth Academy), 3 Finn Kennedy (Carlisle RUFC), 4 Patrick Hogg (Durham, captain), 5 Aaron Nokes (Gosfroth Academy), 6 Jacob Butterill (Sedbergh), 7 Charlie Turnbull (Sedbergh), 8 Reuben Parsons (Gosforth Academy).



Replacements: 16 Ollie Forster (Dame Allan’s), 17 Chris Kelly (RGS Newcastle), 18 Elvis Kitenge-Fuki (Gosforth Academy), 19 Harry Wildridge (Yarm), 20 Will Mallatratt (Durham), 21 Reuben Dyer (Gosforth Academy), 22 Rory Linkleter (Gosforth Academy), 23 James Bent (Gosforth Academy).



Leicester Tigers – TBC



Sale Sharks – TBC



Northampton Saints



15 James Pater, 14 Louis Burns, 13 Ben Agbenu, 12 Billy Pasco (C), 11 Rafe Witheat, 10 Louis Haley, 9 Jonathan Weimann, 1 Tom Dye, 2 Robert Gaffan, 3 Reon Gilbert-Joseph, 4 Thomas Ross, 5 James Barrett, 6 Rhys Harries, 7 Kieran Perkins, 8 Alfie Hoyles.



Replacements: 16 Zack Garrett, 17 Giorgi Turashvilli, 18 Jack Lawrence, 19 Harry Price, 20 James Thompson, 21 Will Tinley, 22 Tom Addison.



Bath – TBC



Exeter Chiefs



15 Jed Findlay, 14 Noah Clifford, 13 Luca Brand, 12 Nick Lilley, 11 Rhys Williams, 10 Freddie Hirst, 9 Josh Pengilly, 1 Josh Mann, 2 Tyler Bailey, 3 Ben Woodmansey, 4 Luke Evans, 5 Charlie Evered, 6 Mawgen Warren, 7 Ben Harris, 8 Xan Retallick.



Replacements: 16 Ted Hocking, 17 Morgan Lowery, 18 Albert Dowse, 19 Tom Dingle, 20 Jacob Lewis, 21 George Newman, 22 Israel Akinrowo, 23 Rhys Richards.



Gloucester – TBC (5pm Release)



Harlequins



15 Elliot Southworth (Hartpury College), 14 Tyler Stewart-Passley (Whitgift), 13 Zuko Robb (Gordon’s), 12 Rory Minton (Seaford College), 11 Izaak Manuel (Eton College), 10 Ben Webb (Gordon’s), 9 Morgan Purnell (Gordon’s), 1 Jamie Miller (Whitgift), 2 Jimmy Staples (Seaford College), 3 Ollie Streeter (Gordon’s), 4 Fin Healey (Gordon’s), 5 Elliot Williams (Gordon’s), 6 Quinn Singh (Trinity), 7 Jack O’Kelly (Henley College), 8 Adam Beney (Gordon’s).



Replacements: 16 N/A, 17 Connor Van Lille (Newman College), 18 Milo Rayner-Parkin (Hurstpierpoint College), 19 Harry Bostock (Seaford College), 20 Ben Giles (St George’s, Weybridge), 21 Sam Line (Whitgift), 22 Math Jones (Gordon’s), 23 Ed Tusler (Hurstpierpoint College).



Saracens



15 J Bracken, 14 F Newton, 13 C Griffin, 12 A Hall (co-captain), 11 B Morrow, 10 A Nagele, 9 A Stewart-Harris, 1 L Young, 2 F Kitchen, 3 R Burke, 4 C Barker, 5 T Adegbemile (co-captain), 6 J Marshall, 7 C West, 8 F White.



Replacements: 16 H McNamara, 17 J Twigg, 18 G Registe, 19 J Murphy, 20 G Nott, 21 A Marks, 22 F Rawlins, 23 R Varona Blakstad.



London & South Central



15 Inigo Langford, 14 Finlay Wiseman, 13 Martin Betsen-Tchoua, 12 Maximus Winter, 11 Tyler Offiah, 10 Finn Keylock, 9 Aidan Pugh, 1 Charlie Holyer, 2 Oscar Thomas, 3 Jerold Gorleku, 4 Rory McKnight, 5 Oliver Agar, 6 Elijah Taylor, 7 Reggie Hammick (c), 8 Kepueli Tuipulotu.



Replacements: 16 Hunter Deane-Johns, 17 Alan Poku, 18 Spencer Cooling, 19 Will May, 20 Isaac Sprenger, 21 Albert Mildenhall, 22 Cameron Ward, 23 Jody Bunce.

[Margin_Walker]

Two lads in the Sarries 15 who jumped ship from London & South Central over the summer (Adegbemile & Griffin)

Serge Betson's lad playing at 13 for L&SC. Saw him play a bit at 15 last season where he was pretty slight, but very good on the ball. Fin Wiseman one to watch at 14.

[Which Tyler]

South

Bath v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday, Chippenham RFC, 2pm
Bath – TBC
Exeter Chiefs - TBC

Bath Rugby U18:
1 Theo Malik, 2 Evan Gallagher, 3 Leo Palmer, 4 Harry Butterworth, 5 Alex Deering, 6 James Maloney, 7 Ed Elliott, 8 Connor Treacey
9 Sam Gane, 10 James Linegar, 11 Toby Lock, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 14 Julian Nuna, 15 Owen Erasmus

16 Henry Bonetti, 17 Sam Janaway, 18 Oliver Cartwright, 19 Alfie Blackett, 20 Fred Kempton, 21 Isaac Mears, 22 Jack Harrison, 23 Declan Treacey

All I know about the players is that #21 is a baby-Lee, and (I think) playing up an age-grade.
#11 is 17 years old, 6'5, called lock, so there's only 1 place any age-grade coach could ever want him to play...

[Epaminondas Pules]

Two lads in the Sarries 15 who jumped ship from London & South Central over the summer (Adegbemile & Griffin)

Serge Betson's lad playing at 13 for L&SC. Saw him play a bit at 15 last season where he was pretty slight, but very good on the ball. Fin Wiseman one to watch at 14.

That’s a really exciting backline for L&SC!

Tayo going to Sarries was always an interesting decision. Good place to learn and environment to be in.

Tuipolotu still switching regularly between 2 and 8. Been playing both for Harrow.

[Margin_Walker]

Two lads in the Sarries 15 who jumped ship from London & South Central over the summer (Adegbemile & Griffin)

Serge Betson's lad playing at 13 for L&SC. Saw him play a bit at 15 last season where he was pretty slight, but very good on the ball. Fin Wiseman one to watch at 14.

That’s a really exciting backline for L&SC!

Tayo going to Sarries was always an interesting decision. Good place to learn and environment to be in.

Tuipolotu still switching regularly between 2 and 8. Been playing both for Harrow.

Yeah, ultimately he's probably going to end up too short to be an elite back row in the men's game (never say never though). At U18 though he's a real weapon there.

[Which Tyler]

Report from COML, obviously Bath biased

Sorry for the delay folks, FT Bath 34 Exe 29.
As the score suggests it was a close game, nip and tuck with each team literally taking turns to score.
To my eyes, Exe looked a heavier team across the pitch, they won the majority of collisions through the game, however Bath dug in well and looked better with ball in hand, arguably a better all round team if under powered.
The were a couple of yellow cards shared and it kind of felt as though the refs decisions kept both teams in touch with each other. For me the difference in the 2nd half were 2 or 3 stolen line outs near the end by Bath that just checked Exe when they looked in the ascendancy. Other than that not much between the teams.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Ollie Davies doing Ollie Davies things. This kid is absolute mint! He tore up the St Jo’s festival!

https://x.com/salesharksrugby/status/17 ... IjUZPGY9HQ

[Margin_Walker]

Nice

Comfortable high scoring victory for Sarries against L&SC (50 - 36)

Kepu had fun again though. Scored a try and did this. Kid must be pretty scary to play against at this level and a big signing for whoever bags him this year.

[Timbo]

Kepu agreed to go to Sarries I believe.

[Puja]

Kepu agreed to go to Sarries I believe.

Annoying, but not shocking. They'll do well by him.

Puja

[Margin_Walker]

Not a huge surprise to be honest.

They'll have a stupidly strong senior academy intake this year.

[Which Tyler]

https://www.bathrugby.com/content/bath- ... is-weekend

Bath:
1 Theo Malik, 2 Evan Gallagher, 3 Leo Palmer, 4 Harry Butterworth, 5 Alex Deering, 6 Jams Maloney, 7 Ed Elliott, 8 Connor Treacey
9 Sam Gane, 10 James Linegar, 11 Toby Lock, 12 Steffan Emanuel, 13 Henry Bartlett, 14 Julian Nunn, 15 Owen Erasmus

16 Henry Bonetti, 17 Sam Janaway, 18 Codi Purnell, 19 Charlie Ward, 20 Fred Kempton, 21 Isaac Mears, 22 Jack Harrison, 23 Declan Treacey


ExLIrish:
1 Holyer, 2 Tuipolotu, 3 Gorleku, 4 McKnight, 5 Agar, 6 Taylor, 7 Hammick, 8 Sprencer
9 Pugh, 10 Keylock, 11 Offiah, 12 Ward, 13 Winter, 14 Wiseman, 15 Betsen

16 Thomas, 17 Poku, 18 Chalmers, 19 Cooling, 20 May, 21 Mildenhall, 22 Cunnison, 23 Bunce

[jimKRFC]

Bristol beat Sarries 27 - 22

Not sure of any details as was on my way home from the Portes du Soleil yesterday.

[Epaminondas Pules]

From NextGen:

The Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League continues to thrill after a fantastic fourth round of action over the weekend.



It was a good weekend to be a home side, with five out of the six games going the way of the home teams, though in the south conference in particular things were firmly in the balance – not least at Bath, who stay unbeaten but had to hold of a fierce challenge from London & South Central.



Round 4 Results (13th/14th January)



North

Leicester Tigers 29-12 Yorkshire Academy

Midlands West 19-34 Northampton Saints

Sale Sharks 59-12 Newcastle Falcons

Midlands Central – Bye



Northampton Saints were the only side to win away from home this week, bouncing back from defeat last time out for a fantastic 34-19 victory at Midlands West, who were full of confidence after a victory over Midlands Central last week. The result keeps Northampton at the top of the conference ahead of another trip to the Midlands to take on Central next week.



It was Sale Sharks that got the better of Saints last time out, and they were in sizzling form again on Sunday as they defeated Newcastle Falcons in a magnificent 59-12 performance that moves them into second in the table ahead of next week’s trip to bottom of the table Yorkshire Academy. It is starting to feel like Sale and Northampton are the two that might be in the running for a place in the final at Kingsholm in mid-February.



Leicester Tigers meanwhile bounced back from last week’s narrow loss at Newcastle Falcons with a 29-12 victory over Yorkshire Academy, an important victory given that they have a bye weekend next. Yorkshire meanwhile are still searching for a first victory – but given how tight the table is they are not down and out yet.



South

Bath 33-31 London South Central

Bristol Bears 27-22 Saracens

Exeter Chiefs 35-24 Harlequins

Gloucester – Bye



Bath are now the only unbeaten side in either conference after Midlands West’s defeat by Saints. Bath have won four from four, collecting bonus points in each game for a maximum 20 points at this stage, and are eight points clear of second place. They had to work oh so hard for it though, facing a tough London & South Central side and just edging it 33-31. They now head to bottom placed Harlequins where victory would make anything other than a top spot finish look highly unlikely. London & South Central must be feeling frustrated, they have produced some magical moments of late, scoring try-scoring bonus points in every game but they just haven’t quite been able to finish the job in recent rounds.



Exeter Chiefs stay in second place after a 35-24 victory over Harlequins on Saturday. They were locked on the same points total as London South Central, Saracens, and Gloucester, but a bonus point victory moves them clear into second outright ahead of next weekend’s game against Gloucester, who had a bye this weekend.



Bristol Bears meanwhile returned to action after a bye with a great display against Saracens at Dings Crusaders on Saturday evening, winning 27-22 to rise from sixth to third in the table. Saracens competed well though and will head into next weekend’s bye thinking that they are still in a strong position to mount a real challenge in the final couple of rounds.



Standings



North Group

Pos Team P W D L BPs Points
1 Northampton Saints 4 3 0 1 5 17
2 Sale Sharks 4 2 1 1 4 14
3 Midlands Central 3 2 0 1 2 10
4 Leicester Tigers 4 2 0 2 3 10
5 Midlands West 3 1 1 1 1 7
6 Newcastle Falcons 3 1 0 2 1 5
7 Yorkshire Academy 3 0 0 3 2 2


South Group

Pos Team P W D L BPs Points
1 Bath 4 4 0 0 4 20
2 Exeter Chiefs 3 2 0 1 4 12
3 Bristol Bears 3 2 0 1 2 10
4 London South Central 4 1 0 3 5 9
5 Saracens 4 1 0 3 4 8
6 Gloucester 3 1 0 2 3 7
7 Harlequins 3 1 0 2 2 6


Round 4 Team News



Leicester Tigers

15 Ethan Blackmore (King’s Grantham), 14 Yaw Afirifah-Mensah (Trent College), 13 Harvey Nkrumah (Norwich), 12 Oliver Docherty (Oakham), 11 Tobias Spencer (Norwich), 10 Tom Threlfall (Nottingham HS), 9 Jack Dickens (Trent College), 1 Bronson Mellows (Brooksby Melton), 2 Jamie Longyear (Denstone College), 3 Ben Beere (Stamford), 4 Tate Skinner (Old Swinford Hospital), 5 Harry Palmer (Brooksby Melton), 6 Joshua Brahoua (King’s Grantham), 7 Lawrence Adediran (Brooksby Melton), 8 Ralfie Willott (Brooksby Melton, captain).

Replacements: 16 Euan Fern (Brooksby Melton), 17 Finlay Hayward (Old Swinford Hospital), 18 Tubuna Maka (Brooksby Melton), 19 George Marsh (Gresham’s), 20 Henry Nanka-Bruce (Brooksby Melton), 21 Jonty Nickols (Stamford), 22 James Egerton (Stamford), 23 Tom Pickering (Denstone College).



Yorkshire Academy

15 George Brown (Barnard Castle), 14 Callum Hyland-Dugbo (Woodhouse Grove), 13 Lloyd McEwan-Peters (Wellington College), 12 Jack Wilson (Harrogate GS), 11 Thomas Rowe (Woodhouse Grove), 10 Louie Platt (Mount St Mary’s), 9 Gabriel Horberry (Harrogate GS), 1 Lucas Oxley (St Peter’s, York), 2 Seb Easterby-Gray (Queen Ethelburgas, captain), 3 Sam Bland (Bishop Burton College), 4 Callum Russell (Bishop Burton College), 5 Henry Renshaw (Mount St Mary’s), 6 Luca Teal (Woodhouse Grove), 7 Archie Hurford (Woodhouse Grove), 8 Alfie Longstaff (Woodhouse Grove).

Replacements: 16 N/A, 17 Oliver Spencer (Grammar School at Leeds), 18 Oliver Fretwell (Biship Burton College), 19 Fraser Perry (Hill House), 20 Will Brooks (Grammar School at Leeds), 21 Oscar Binns (Woodhouse Grove), 22 Aiden Doeg (St Peter’s, York), 23 Anesu Chindove (St Peter’s, York).



Midlands West

15 Haydn Lewis (Hartpury College), 14 Jacob Reynolds (Stourport HS), 13 Ewan Tulloch (Ellesmere College), 12 Henry Parsons (Bromsgrove), 11 Ellis Deans-Smith (Hartpury College), 10 Ned Collins (Hereford 6th form College, captain), 9 Osian Catlin (Millfield), 1 Jeremy Akena (Stourport HS), 2 George Knowles (Hereford Cathedral), 3 Lewys Perkins (Stourport HS), 4 Tom Hilton (Malvern College), 5 Dan Halkon (RGS Worcester), 6 Henry Black (Hereford 6th form College), 7 Harvey Leonard (Ellesmere College), 8 Jack Gilbert (Bromsgrove).

Replacements: Rory Blyth (Hereford 6th form College), Harry Wright (Stourport HS), Harry Pemberton (Solihull), Henry Williams (Hartpury College), Harrison Osborne (Bromsgrove), Tom Roberts (Hartpury College), Fintan Dowling (KES Birmingham), Joe Johnston (North Leamington College).



Northampton Saints

15 Edoardo Todaro, 14 Louis Burns, 13 Ben Agbenu, 12 Billy Pasco (C), 11 Rafe Witheat, 10 Louis Haley, 9 Jonathan Weimann, 1 Tom Dye, 2 Robert Gaffan, 3 Reon Gilbert Joseph, 4 Thomas Ross, 5 James Barrett, 6 Harry Price, 7 Kieran Perkins, 8 Alfie Hoyles.

Replacements: 16 Zack Garrett, 17 Giorgi Turashvilli, 18 Ollie Hull, 19 Rhys Harries, 20 Ben Currie, 21 Tom Addison, 22 James Pater.



Sale Sharks

15 Daniel Green (St Ambrose College), 14 Fraser Rossiter (King’s Chester), 13 Ben Firth (Kirkham GS), 12 Toby Wilson (King’s Macclesfield), 11 Sebi Krippner (Kirkham GS), 10 Ollie Davies (Kirkham GS), 9 Rhys Hulse (Kirkham GS), 1 Ben Lilley (Knutsford Academy), 2 Tom Davis (St Mary’s College), 3 Leon Tahana (Wirral GS), 4 Josh Gibbon (Ashton on Mersey), 5 Jos Gilmore (Kirkham GS), 6 Liam Harrison (Xaverian College), 7 Seb Kelly (Kirkham GS, captain), 8 Monty Loggenberg (Kirkham GS).

Replacements: 16 Freddie Griffiths (King’s Macclesfield), 17 Noah Lawton (Myerscough College), 18 Cian Jackson (Kirkham GS), 19 Dylan Hodkinson (Wirral GS), 20 Will Bennett (Sedbergh), 21 Will Holmes (Sedbergh), 22 Alex Smith (Kirkham GS), 23 Sam Lewtas (Kirkham GS).



Newcastle Falcons

15 Tom Katory (Dame Allan’s), 14 Sam Wardle (RGS Newcastle), 13 Rory Linkleter (Gosforth Academy), 12 Osea Navuso (Richmond 6th form College), 11 Huw Lloyd (Gosforth Academy), 10 Josh Farley (Gosforth Academy), 9 Joe Davis (Barnard Castle), 1 Harvey Headlam (Hartlepool 6th form College), 2 Ryan Shaw (Gosforth Academy), 3 Finn Kennedy (Carlisle RUFC), 4 Patrick Hogg (Durham, captain), 5 Aaron Nokes (Gosforth Academy), 6 Jacob Butterill (Sedbergh), 7 Charlie Turnbull (Sedbergh), 8 Reuben Parsons (Gosforth Academy).

Replacements: 16 Harry Bellamy (Sedbergh), 17 Chris Kelly (RGS Newcastle), 18 Elvis Kitenge-Fuki (Gosforth Academy), 19 Harry Wildridge (Yarm), 20 Dan Toole (Durham), 21 Reuben Dyer (Gosforth Academy), 22 Josh Bailey (Gosforth Academy), 23 James Bent (Gosforth Academy).



Bath

15 Owen Erasmus (Millfield), 14 Julian Nunn (Beechen Cliff), 13 Henry Bartlett (Beechen Cliff), 12 Steffan Emanuel (Millfield), 11 Toby Lock (Beechen Cliff), 10 James Linegar (Kingswood), 9 Sam Gane (Beechen Cliff), 1 Theo Malik (Dauntsey’s), 2 Evan Gallagher (Kingswood), 3 Leo Palmer (Kingswood), 4 Harry Butterworth (Dauntsey’s), 5 Alex Deering (Millfield), 6 James Maloney (Marlborough College), 7 Ed Elliott (Marlborough College), 8 Connor Treacey (Beechen Cliff, captain).

Replacements: 16 Henry Bonetti (Millfield), 17 Sam Janaway (Canford), 18 Codi Purnell (Millfield), 19 Charlie Ward (Kingswood), 20 Fred Kempton (Beechen Cliff), 21 Isaac Mears (Beechen Cliff), 22 Jack Harrison (Beechen Cliff), 23 Declan Treacey (Priestlands).



London & South Central

15 Martin Betsen Tchoua, 14 Finlay Wiseman, 13 Maximus Winter, 12 Cameron Ward, 11 Tyler Offiah, 10 Finn Keylock, 9 Aidan Pugh, 1 Charlie Hoyler, 2 Kepueli Tuipulotu, 3 Jerold Gorleku, 4 Rory McKnight, 5 Oliver Agar, 6 Elijah Taylor, 7 Reggie Hammick (c), 8 Isaac Sprenger.

Replacements: 16 Oscar Thomas, 17 Alan Poku, 18 Martin Chalmers, 19 Spencer Codling, 20 Will May, 21 Albert Mildenhall, 22 Finlay Cunnison, 23 Jody Bunce.



Bristol Bears

15 Tom Bowen, 14 Louis Nancekivell, 13 Victor Worsnip, 12 Jamie Howick, 11 Aidan Boshoff, 10 Fin Fielder, 9 Oscar Green, 1 Will Pearce, 2 Jacob Hodgson, 3 Jack Parkinson, 4 Rowan Curry, 5 Joe Lloyd (c), 6 Joachim Hullah, 7 Kieran Hill, 8 Oliver Russell.

Replacements: 16 Manship, 17 Davison, 18 Jones, 19 Spokes, 20 Phillips, 21 Williams, 22 Sheppard.



Saracens

15 Jack Bracken (St Albans), 14 Finn Newton (Haileybury), 13 Charlie Griffin (Harrow), 12 Angus Hall (The Judd, co-captain), 11 Fraser Rawlins (Haileybury), 10 Alex Nagele (Berkhamsted), 9 Asa Stewart-Harris (St Albans), 1 Lewis Young (Sutton Valence), 2 Frank Kitchen (The Judd), 3 Rohan Burke (Ipswich), 4 Charlie Barker (Ashford), 5 Tayo Adegbemile (St Albans, co-captain), 6 Jack Marshall (Campion), 7 Charlie West (St Albans), 8 Finn White (Sedbergh).

Replacements: 16 Harry McNamara (Hayes), 17 Josh Twigg (St George’s, Harpenden), 18 Joe Roberts (Mill Hill), 19 Zach Johnson (Tonbridge), 20 Gabriel Nott (Berkhamsted), 21 Alfie Marks (Gravesend GS), 22 Archie Nicklin (Richard Hale), 23 Ben Morrow (Millfield).



Exeter Chiefs

15 Jed Findlay, 14 Noah Clifford, 13 Nick Lilley, 12 Rhys Richards, 11 Rhys Williams, 10 Freddie Hirst, 9 Josh Pengilly, 1 Josh Mann, 2 Tyler Bayley, 3 Ben Woodmansy, 4 Luke Evans (c), 5 Charlie Evered, 6 Mawgen Warren, 7 Tom Dingle, 8 Xan Retallick.

Replacements: 16 Ted Hocking, 17 Jamie Stewart, 18 Albert Dowse, 19 Ben Harris, 20 Bobby Pond, 21 George Newman, 22 Luca Brano, 23 Israel Akinrowo.



Harlequins

15 Rory Minton (Seaford College), 14 Tyler Stewart-Passley (Whitgift), 13 Zuko Robb (Gordon’s), 12 Ed Tusler (Hurstpierpoint College), 11 Elliot Southworth (Hartpury College), 10 Ben Webb (Gordon’s), 9 Fergus Callington (Whitgift), 1 Connor Van Lille (Newman College), 2 Jimmy Staples (Seaford College), 3 Ollie Streeter (Gordon’s), 4 Nathan Ventham (Brighton College), 5 Elliot Williams (Gordon’s), 6 Quinn Singh (Trinity), 7 Ashton Graham (Gordon’s), 8 Jack O’Kelly (Henley College).

Replacements: 16 Jamie Miller (Whitgift), 17 Milo Rayner-Parkin (Hurstpierpoint College), 18 Harry Bostock (Seaford College), 19 Tate Williams (Worth), 20 Morgan Purnell (Gordon’s), 21 Felix Bateman-Champain (Worth), 22 Izaak Manuel (Eton College).

[Which Tyler]

Quin's looked very strong in that first 20 minutes. Bath getting some joy through the backs, but getting knocked back in the tight. First try required an element of luck, but that got tails up. Continued to beat us up a bit in the right exchanges.
22-0 at this point.

Bath change things up a bit, try to get the forwards running a touch wider, and trusting the backs a bit more, and come right back into things for a HT score of 22-15. Bath 10 impressive for game management, despite overcooking a couple of kicks.

Scrappy opening 5 minutes of the 2nd half sees a try a-piece for 29-22, before Bath tighten up the discipline in defence. Quin's okay well, but ultimately fruitless, whilst Bath pick up another couple of tries, including an exciting but stupid call. 29-27 with 4 minutes to go, TBP already secure, kickable penalty, and... went for the corner. Failed to do much off the lineout, but kept possession and battered away at the line, eventually getting over but jeez.

Bath go 5 wins from 5, complete with 5 TBPs
5 tries a piece, but with Bath crossing the line a few other times but held up. Linegar and Emmanuel look like names to keep an eye on from Bath, 17 for Quins (sorry this is such a one-eyed review. Partially going to be my bias, but the play really did feel like it was a story of Baths game management)