There were just two fixtures in the A League last night but they with each side packed to the rafters with youngsters, there was still plenty to keep an eye on.

Unfortunately torrid weather conditions turned it into a slightly less spectacular evening than we have become used to on Monday nights in recent weeks, but nonetheless it was interesting as Leicester Tigers A picked up their first victory of the campaign, while Exeter Braves took a victory to keep them within touching distance of Saracens Storm at the top of the Southern table.

Leicester beat Sale Jets 13-0 up at Heywood Road, leaving Sale at the foot of the Northern Conference and without a win from their four games.

New recruit Tommy Bell scored all of Leicester Tigers’ points, while recent school leavers George Nott and James Mitchell came close at the end for Sale Jets but the Tigers defence was determined not to pass up on this winning chance.

With hordes of youngsters in both ranks, this will be a valuable lesson to take forward, particularly given the different style of game from previous round due to the weather.

In the Southern Conference Exeter Braves defeated a Harlequins side that included four Old Brighton College pupils, Jordan Turner-Hall and three Chisholm brothers, including JWC winner and former England U18 captain, James, who led the side from the flank.

James actually got on the scoresheet for Quins, with Grimoldby converting and landing a penalty too, however it was in vain as Exeter Braves stretched out to a 27-10 victory, their third of the season.

Former Wales international Ceri Sweeney scored twelve points, with tries from Arnott, Vainikolo, and Naqelevuki illustrating Exeter’s dominance. It was impressive stuff from the Braves. They led 10-0 before Quins A brought it back to 10-10 only from the Braves to score a further seventeen unanswered points on their way to victory.

Aviva A League Results:

Sale Jets 0-13 Leicester Tigers A

Harlequins A 10-27 Exeter Braves

Teams:

Sale Jets:

Mike Haley,  John O’Donnell,  Sam Bedlow,  Sam James,  Phil MacKenzie,  Tom Morton,  Nathan Fowles,  Darren Fearn,  Shalva Mamukashvili,  James Flynn,  Matt Postlethwaite,  Ollie Parkinson,  George Nott,  Liam Parfitt,  Andy Hughes (c).

Replacements: Dave Blackwell,  George Hymes, Ciaran Parker,  Tom Bell,  Mike Quickenden,  James Mitchell,  Mark Lawrence,  Charlie Ingall.

Leicester Tigers A:

15 Tommy Bell  14 David Williams  13 George Catchpole  12 Charlie Thacker  11 Paolo Odogwu  10 John Hargreaves  9 George Tresidder  1 Tom Bristow  2 Harry Thacker (c)  3 Rikki Stout  4 Charlie Beckett  5 Joe Maksymiw  6 Will Owen  7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili  8 Stone Priestley-Nangle.

Replacements:  16 Riccardo Brugnara  17 Aniseko Sio  18 Jake Farnworth  19 Nick Murphy  20 Charlie Harvey  21 George Prince  22 Javiah Pohe  23 Adam Thompstone.

Harlequins A:

1 Darryl Marfo
 2 Rob Buchanan
 3 Seb Adeniran-Olule
 4 George Merrick 
5 Sam Twomey
 6 Joe Trayfoot
 7 James Chisholm (c) 
8 Henry Cheeseman

9 Sam Stuart
 10 Louis Grimoldby
 11 Jordan Burns
 12 Jordan Turner-Hall
 13 Harry Sloan 
14 Charlie Walker 
15 Ross Chisholm.

Replacements: 16 Charlie Piper  17 TBC 
18 Josh Ibuanokpe
 19 Stan South
 20 Kieran Treadwell
 21 Joe Brown
 22 Charlie Gossington
 23 Ali Chisholm.

Exeter Braves:

15 Jack Arnott  14 Fetu’u Vainikolo  13 Max Bodilly  12 Tom Hendrickson  11 Adam Hughes  10 Ceri Sweeney  9 Pat Phibbs  1 Brett Sturgess  2 Greg Bateman  3 Alex Brown  4 Jerry Sexton  5 Ed Holmes  6 Sireli Naqelevuki  7 Sam Simmonds  8 Sam Skinner (c).

Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie  17 Jake Woolmore  18 Jack Stanley  19 Harry Ledger  20 Paul Davis  21 Dave Lewis  22 Laurence May  23 Alex Wilcockson.

Tables: