This weekend represents the final weekend of the Aviva Premiership U18 League for many sides, and with Leicester having already wrapped up the Northern Conference, the Southern Conference is where the big focus is, Saracens are in control but Harlequins and Exeter could still pip them to the post.
With their two games in hand, Exeter could in theory top the league without Saracens dropping any points though. The Chiefs are the only unbeaten side in the South and if they can beat Wasps at Sandy Park tomorrow it will put Saracens under real pressure to get a result on Sunday.
Saracens will feel confident of victory though as Bristol currently sit at the bottom of the table, without a win and coming off the back of a 42-0 defeat to local rivals Bath.
Bath themselves could yet have an effect on the outcome of the league though, despite sitting second from bottom, as they travel to the Stoop to play Harlequins on Saturday evening, where a win for the West Country side would rule Quins out of topping the league.
Quins are seven points behind Saracens, with a game in hand, but if they are to top the league then they need Saracens to get no more than a draw against Bristol and they must hope that the Chiefs do not win all of their remaining games.
In the North the situation is rather different, Leicester have wrapped up the league but play Northampton Saints tomorrow in one of the most competitive derbies on the rugby calendar. The game will be played at Franklin’s Gardens and is expected to draw a big crowd.
Sale Sharks cemented their position as one of the top U18 sides in the country with a 34-24 victory over Gloucester today. The Sharks secured a winning bonus point to leave them looking likely to be Leicester’s closest challengers.
The final game of the weekend in the North is at West Park, where Leeds will host bottom of the table Worcester Warriors. Neither side has won a game yet, though Leeds have only played three so far due to weather postponements.
Aviva Premiership Under 18 Fixtures (Predictions in bold):
Friday:
Sale Sharks 34-24 Gloucester – Carrington
Saturday:
Northampton Saints v Leicester Tigers 12.00 Franklin’s Gardens
Leeds Carnegie v Worcester Warriors 14.00 West Park
Exeter Chiefs v London Wasps 14.30 Sandy Park
Harlequins v Bath 17.30 Twickenham Stoop
Sunday:
Bristol v Saracens 12.30 Clifton RFC
Aviva Premiership Under 18 League Tables:
|
Northern Conference |
||||||
|
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
BP |
Points |
|
Leicester Tigers |
5 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
25 |
|
Sale Sharks |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
17 |
|
Northampton Saints |
4 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
11 |
|
Gloucester |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
|
Newcastle Falcons |
5 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
10 |
|
Leeds Carnegie |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
Worcester Warriors |
5 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
Southern Conference |
||||||
|
Team |
Played |
Won |
Lost |
Drawn |
BP |
Points |
|
Saracens |
5 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
20 |
|
London Wasps |
5 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
14 |
|
Harlequins |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
13 |
|
Exeter Chiefs |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
12 |
|
London Irish |
5 |
1 |
4 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
|
Bath |
4 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
|
Bristol |
4 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
Teams:
Gloucester:
Joe Carolan (Sir Thomas Rich’s); Robson Skipsey (St Peter’s, Gloucester), Mark Harrison (Hartpury College), Ollie Thorley (Cheltenham College), Jack Lawthom (Hartpury College); Tiff Eden (Dean Close), Reece Boughton (Hartpury College); Will Goodrick-Clarke (Cheltenham College), Ryan Charles (Hartpury College), Jack Spencer (Hartpury College); Jonny Hill (Hartpury College), Simon Linsell (Marling); Tom Lushington (Cheltenham College), Mike Luxton, Lewis Ludlow (c) (Hartpury College).
Replacements: Syd Haskawyne (Cheltenham Tigers), Niall Gibbons (Hartpury College), Gareth Jones, Will Safe (Hartpury College), Jo Gare, Tom Griffiths (Hartpury College), Harry Priestner (Rendcomb College), Will Hayward (Hartpury College)
Sale: Team Not Released
Northampton:
15 Tom Collins
14 Howard Packman
13 Tom Stephenson
12 Harry Mallinder
11 Josh Skelcey
10 Sam Olver
9 Max Johnson
1 Danny Hobbs-Awoyemi
2 James Fish
3 Harry Morley
4 Jordan Onojaife
5 Josh Peters
6 Harry Betts 7 Sam Harry
8 Ollie Lyons
Replacements: 16 Owen Griffiths
17 Simon Uzokwe
18 Ollie Lamprell
19 Karl Wilkins
20 Steve Arroyo-Hover
21 Dan Lewis
22 Rotimi Segun
23 George Wacokecoke.
Leicester: TBA
Leeds: TBA
Worcester:
1 Joe Wrafter; Worcester 6th Form
2 Callum Young; Bromsgrove School
3 Trae O’Sullivan; Lyn Hall School
4 Huw Taylor; Old Swinford
5 Scott Makepiece; Worcester 6th Form
6 Josh Feek; Old Swinford
7 Sam Smith; Old Swinford
8 Josh Buggea; Academy
9 Jake Pratley; Worcester 6th Form
10 Elliott Davies; Bromsgrove School
11 Colin Dickson; Ellesmere College
12 Jack Wardle; Academy
13 James young: Bromsgrove School
14 Josh Watkins; Academy
15 John Hughes; RGS
Replacements: 16 James Gunther; Worcester 6th Form
17 Jake Byrne; Trinity School
18 Mike Quickenden; Worcester 6th Form
19 Matt Kinney; Ellesmere College
20 Bob Penfold; Hartpury College
21 Dan Hope; Worcester 6th Form
22 Jackson Hughes; Lawrance Sherriff
Exeter:
15 Max Bodlly 14 Ned Warne 13 Tom Hendrickson 12 Tom Holdsworth 11 Joe Pretty 10 Laurence May 9 Stu Townsend 1 Dan Pullinger 2Â Jack Innard 3 Luke Chapman 4 Charlie Hewiit 5 Marcus Garratt 6 Ben Hancock 7 Sam Simmonds 8 Todd Lowry
Replacements: 16 Richard Bayliss 17 Tyler Gendall 18 Mike Roach 19 Todd Prisk 20 Tom Edwards 21 Jack Oulton 22 George Toomey
Wasps:
1. George Edgson 2. Dean Brooker 3. Alex Lundberg (captain) 4. Jake O’Leary 5. Oskar Hirsky-Douglas
6. Beno Obano
7. Jackson Burton
8. Matt Blandford 9. Dan Williams 10. James Grist
11. Sam Isaacs 12. Dan Barnes 13. Alex Harrison 14. Tom Howe 15. Louis Clayton-Molloy
Replacements : 16. George Davis 17. Tom West 18. Will Stuart 19. Sam Howard
20. Toby Atkinson-Coyle 21. Dan Rowlands
22. Joel Harvey 23. George Saunders 24. Morgan Ward.
Harlequins (from):
Loizias, Ndwere, Whiteley, Forrest, Bramhall, Smith, Bellamin, Mosley, Taylor, Woolams, Arnold; Adeniran-Olule, Robinson, Ugodulunwa, Piper, Ibuanopke, Wilkey, South, McGeekie, Wilcock, Taggart, Forshaw, Chisholm.
Bath: TBA
Bristol: TBA
Saracens: TBA