The Anglo-Welsh Cup returned for a second week this weekend, with some fantastic games of rugby.
More importantly though it was another chance for young stars from around the country to get their chance to shine in their club 1st XV colours. The youngsters included dozens of England’s success stories form the U20 programme over the last couple of years as well as a number of players who were playing for their school 1st XVs this time last year.
Friday
The action began on Friday night as Bath travelled to Wales to face the Scarlets. Both sides included plenty of youngsters, including Zach Mercer and Beno Obano for Bath, and the away side took a comfortable 21-9 lead into the break. However the tide of the game swung incredibly in the second half, with the Scarlets scoring 35 unanswered points to secure an breathtaking 44-21 victory.
There was another comeback on Friday night, though perhaps not quite as impressive an effort at that of the Scarlets. Ospreys led Harlequins 12-5 at half time, with the former NatWest Cup winner with Dulwich College, Tommy O’Flaherty, scoring and playing quite brilliantly on his debut. A young Harlequins side came back admirably in the second half though, securing a 15-12 win away from home.
The big news on Friday though was a first win of the season for Bristol, who picked an experienced side at home to Sale Sharks. The ploy worked as they secured a 26-11 victory over a young Sale Sharks side including the twins Ben and Tom Curry in the back row, who both finished at Oundle School this summer.
Saturday
Saturday saw Saracens host Newcastle Falcons. A close game turned on its head when Newcastle youngster Craig Willis was sent off for a dangerous tackle midway through the second half. Nick Tompkins, Scott Spurling, Jared Saunders, and George Perkins scored for the hosts, with former Millfield star Tom Whiteley landing four kicks as he once again played the full 8- in the increasingly familiar fly half position.
Northampton Saints made it two from two in the competition as they held off a Gloucester fightback for a 19-13 victory. Former Oundle star Sam Olver scored 14 of the 19 points for the home side, with hooker Charlie Clare scoring a try. It gave the home side a 19-3 lead, but Gloucester rallied brilliantly, reminiscent of their win last week, scoring tries through Cheltenham College old boy Olly Thorley and back row Dan Thomas.
The final game on Saturday saw Newport Gwent Dragons travel to Leicester Tigers. The hosts fielded an experienced side, with Owen Williams and Freddie Burns both starting along with Graham Kitchener in the second row and Tom Croft in the back row. That experience paid off in style as the Tigers swept to a dominant 42-3 victory. Williams and Burns both got on the scoresheet with tries, while former Hartpury College star Ellis Genge came off the bench to score having been released by England.
Sunday
Saturday ended with one high score, but Sunday took that to a whole new level. Exeter Chiefs were in stunning form at home against Cardiff Blues, getting more than just that much needed win, but getting a stunning 62-25 victory against the Welsh side. There were first starts for the entire Chiefs front row, Billy Keast, Shaun Malton, and former Millfield pupil Jack Owlett, with the likes of Stuart Townsend and Harvey Skinner adding to a dominant performance from the bench.
Wasps, if anything, were even more impressive at home to Worcester Warriors, equaling Exeter’s total of 62 points but conceding just 10. Worcester actually led early on but Wasps came storming back, they had picked some experienced players in their side, including Joe Simpson and Dan Robson, as well James Gaskell and Thomas Young. That tactic more than paid off as they kept their heads before storming away to a stunning victory.
Anglo-Welsh Cup Results:
Friday
Scarlets 44-21 Bath
Ospreys 12-15 Harlequins
Bristol 26-11 Sale Sharks
Saturday
Saracens 29-18 Newcastle Falcons
Northampton Saints 19-13 Gloucester
Leicester Tigers 42-3 Newport Gwent Dragons
Sunday
Exeter Chiefs 62-25 Cardiff Blues
Wasps 62-10 Worcester Warriors
Team News:
Scarlets
15 Tom Williams, 14 Richard Smith, 13 Ioan Nicholas, 12 Gareth Owen, 11 Ryan Conbeer, 10 Dan Jones, 9 Aled Davies, 1 Dylan Evans, 2 Emyr Phillips (c), 3 Peter Edwards, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 5 Rynier Bernardo, 6 Jack Condy, 7 Josh Macleod, 8 Morgan Allen.
Replacements: 16 Taylor Davies, 17 Luke Garrett, 18 Nicky Thomas, 19 Josh Helps, 20 Tom Phillips, 21 Declan Smith, 22 Jack Maynard, 23 Billy McBryde.
Bath
15 Tom Homer, 14 Jeff Williams, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Dan Bowden, 11 Jack Wilson, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Darren Allinson, 1 Beno Obano, 2 Tom Dunn, 3 Max Lahiff, 4 Matt Garvey, 5 Elliott Stooke, 6 Zach Mercer, 7 Guy Mercer (c), 8 Paul Grant.
Replacements: 16 Michael van Vuuren, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Alex Humfrey, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Will Homer, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Rory Jennings.
Ospreys
15 Dafydd Howells, 14 Tom Grabham, 13 Joe Thomas, 12 Jonathan Spratt, 11 Tom O’Flaherty, 10 Luke Price, 9 Matthew Aubrey, 1 Gareth Thomas, 2 Scott Otten, 3 Rhodri Jones, 4 James Ratti, 5 Rory Thornton, 6 Rob McCusker (c), 7 Joe Tomalin-Reeves, 8 Dan Baker.
Replacements: 16 Hugh Gustafson, 17 Rowan Jenkins, 18 Dan Suter, 19 Rhys Jones, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Phil Jones, 22 Kieran Williams, 23 Jay Baker.
Harlequins
15 Aaron Morris, 14 Charlie Walker, 13 Winston Stanley, 12 James Lang, 11 Henry Cheeseman, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Luc Jones, 1 Owen Evans, 2 Joe Gray, 3 Adam Jones, 4 Stan South, 5 Charlie Matthews, 6 James Chisholm, 7 Dave Ward (c), 8 George Naoupu.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Piper, 17 Dan Murphy, 18 Matt Shields, 19 Archie White, 20 Luke Wallace, 21 Karl Dickson, 22 Tim Swiel, 23 Gabriel Ibitoye.
Bristol
- Jack Wallace, 14 Tom Varndell, 13 Jason Woodward, 12 Will Hurrell, 11 Jack Tovey, 10 Billy Searle, 9 Rhodri Williams, 1 Kyle Traynor, 2 Rob Hawkins 3 Jamal Ford-Robinson, 4 Ian Evans, 5 Mark Sorenson, 6 Mitch Eadie, 7 Nick Fenton-Wells, 8 Jordan Crane (c).
Replacements: 16 Marc Jones, 17 Soane Tonga’uiha, 18 James Hall, 19 James Phillips, 20 Nick Koster, 21 Will Cliff, 22 Adrian Jarvis, 23 Luke Arscott.
Sale Sharks
15 Tom Arscott, 14 Charlie Ingall, 13 Sam Bedlow, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Nick Scott, 10 Dan Mugford, 9 James Mitchell, 1 James Flynn, 2 Rob Webber, 3 Halani Aulika, 4 George Nott, 5 Lou Reed, 6 Ben Curry, 7 Tom Curry, 8 Laurence Pearce.
Replacements: 16 Curtis Langdon, 17 Jake Pope, 18 Ciaran Parker, 19 TJ Ioane, 20 David Seymour, 21 Peter Stringer, 22 Sam Tuitupou, 23 Josh Charnley.
Saracens
15 Andrew Fenby, 14 Mike Ellery, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Tom Griffiths, 11 Nathan Earle, 10 Tom Whiteley, 9 Henry Taylor, 1 Richard Barrington, 2 Scott Spurling, 3 Petrus Du Plessis, 4 Nick Iwiekwe, 5 Mark Flanagan, 6 Joel Conlon, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 8 Samu Vunisa.
Replacements: 16 Jared Saunders, 17 Hayden Thompson-Stringer, 18 Billy Walker, 19 Jack Nay, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Neil De Kock, 22 Matt Gallagher, 23 George Perkins.
Newcastle Falcons
15 Brett Connon, 14 Dan Marshall, 13 Fred Burdon (c), 12 Craig Willis, 11 Adam Radwan, 10 Joel Hodgson, 9 Sam Egerton, 1 Alex Rogers, 2 David Nelson, 3 Scott Wilson, 4 Mouritz Botha, 5 Glen Young, 6 Joshua Chisanga, 7 Tyrone Holmes, 8 Opeti Fonua.
Replacements: 16 Santiago Socino, 17 Adam Brocklebank, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Harrison Orr, 20 Daniel Temm, 21 Ruaridh Dawson, 22 Ben Stevenson, 23 Tom Ffitch.
Northampton Saints
15 James Wilson, 14 Jamie Elliott, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 Tom Collins, 10 Sam Olver, 9 Tom Kessell, 1 Ethan Waller, 2 Charlie Clare, 3 Paul Hill, 4 Jordan Onojaife, 5 James Craig, 6 Jamie Gibson, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 8 Sam Dickinson (c).
Replacements: 16 James Fish, 17 Matt Beesley, 18 Gareth Denman, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Teimana Harrison, 21 Ben Nutley, 22 Lee Dickson, 23 Ben Foden.
Gloucester
15 Lloyd Evans, 14 Mat Protheroe, 13 Henry Purdy, 12 Elliott Creed, 11 Ollie Thorley, 10 Billy Burns, 9 Callum Braley, 1 Yann Thomas, 2 Henry Walker, 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 4 Joe Batley, 5 Joe Latta, 6 Lewis Ludlow (c), 7 Dan Thomas, 8 Gareth Evans.
Replacements: 16 Joe Mullis, 17 Josh Hohneck, 18 Ciaran Knight, 19 Charlie Beckett, 20 Freddie Clarke, 21 Ben Vellacott, 22 Tom Hudson, 23 Will Safe.
Leicester Tigers
15 George Worth, 14 Adam Thompstone, 13 Jack Roberts, 12 Owen Williams, 11 Peter Betham, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Sam Harrison (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza, 2 Harry Thacker, 3 Greg Bateman, 4 Harry Wells, 5 Graham Kitchener, 6 Tom Croft, 7 Will Evans, 8 Luke Hamilton.
Replacements: 16 George McGuigan, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Pat Cilliers, 19 Ed Slater, 20 Brendon O’Connor, 21 Jono Kitto, 22 Oli Bryant, 23 Mathew Tait.
Dragons
15 Carl Meyer, 14 Tom Prydie, 13 Adam Warren, 12 Jack Dixon (c), 11 Ashton Hewitt, 10 Geraint Rhys Jones, 9 Tavis Knoyle; 1 Phil Price, 2 Darran Harris, 3 Craig Mitchell, 4 Joe Davies, 5 Matthew Screech, 6 James Thomas, 7 Nic Cudd, 8 Harri Keddie.
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Sam Hobbs, 18 Leon Brown, 19 Robson Blake, 20 Josh Skinner, 21 Owen Davies, 22 Arwel Robson, 23 Will Talbot-Davies.
Exeter Chiefs
15 Phil Dollman, 14 Max Bodilly, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tom Hendrickson, 11 Ian Whitten, 10 Joe Simmonds, 9 Will Chudley, 1 Billy Keast, 2 Shaun Malton, 3 Jack Owlett, 4 Ollie Atkins, 5 Damian Welch, 6 Ben White, 7 Sam Simmonds, 8 Tom Johnson (c).
Replacements: 16 Jack Innard, 17 Will Norton, 18 Marcus Street, 19 Josh Caulfield, 20 Tom Lawday, 21 Stuart Townsend, 22 Harvey Skinner, 23 Harry Strong.
Cardiff Blues
15 Rhun Williams, 14 Aled Summerhill, 13 Harri Millard, 12 Garyn Smith (c), 11 James Beal, 10 Jarrod Evans, 9 Dane Blacker, 1 Brad Thyer, 2 Kirby Myhill, 3 Dillon Lewis, 4 Jack Davies, 5 James Down, 6 Seb Davies, 7 Shane Lewis-Hughes, 8 James Sheekey.
Replacements: 16 Liam Belcher, 17 Rhys Carre, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Hemi Barnes, 20 Morgan Sienawski, 21 Rhodri Davies, 22 Ben Jones, 23 Owen Lane.
Wasps
15 Piers O’Conor, 14 Tom Howe, 13 Alapati Leiua, 12 Brendan Macken, 11 Guy Armitage, 10 Connor Eastgate, 9 Joe Simpson, 1 Tom West, 2 Tom Cruse, 3 Phil Swainston, 4 Marcus Garratt, 5 Will Rowlands, 6 James Gaskell (c), 7 Thomas Young, 8 Alex Rieder.
Replacements: 16 Ashley Johnson, 17 Ben Harris, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Jack Willis, 20 Sam Harry, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Owain James, 23 Jacob Umaga.
Worcester Warriors
15 Josh Adams, 14 Afeafe Haisila Lokotui, 13 Andy Short, 12 Max Stelling, 11 Tom Biggs, 10 Tom Heathcote (c), 9 Michael Dowsett, 1 Derrick Appiah, 2 Jack Singleton, 3 Mike Daniels, 4 Andrew Kitchener, 5 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 6 Sam Betty, 7 Sam Lewis, 8 Matt Cox.
Replacements: 16 Matti Williams, 17 Ryan Bower, 18 Biyi Alo, 19 Justin Clegg, 20 Sam Ripper-Smith, 21 Huw Taylor, 22 George de Cothi, 23 Alex Hearle.
