It is Round 4 of the U18 Academy League this weekend, with five games on Saturday and one of Sunday.

The first three round shave been exciting, and the fourth should be even more so as teams start to jostle for position as they target high positions ahead of finals day in February.

Northern Conference

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks

Leicester are without a win from their first two games, having lost to Worcester Warriors and heavily to local rivals Northampton Saints. They are joint bottom along with Newcastle Falcons so will be desperate to get a win and move up the table. Sale have a win and a loss from their two games, and a loss would see them overtaken by Leicester. The Sharks have beaten Newcastle Falcons well but lost to Wasps last week. They name an exciting side, packed with Sedbergh talent, led by number 8 Sam Moore, and could put pressure on the top 3 with a win.

Wasps v Newcastle Falcons

This game sees top against bottom in the Northern Conference. Wasps have won three from three, beating Worcester, Yorkshire Carnegie, and Sale Sharks. Once again they name an exciting team, skippered by Will Porter, as they aim to make it four from four against a Newcastle Falcons side without a win, having lost to Yorkshire Carnegie, Northampton Saints, and Sale. The Falcons team is once again Sedbergh heavy, and is captained by centre Charlie Wilson.

Worcester Warriors v Northampton Saints

This game takes place on Sunday, with both sides level on points. Saints are second in the table, with two wins from two over Leicester and Newcastle, while Worcester also have two wins, against Leicester and Yorkshire Carnegie, but have also lost a game, to Wasps. Both teams look exciting, with Worcester’s side packed full of Bromsgrove and Warwick players who will shortly be competing in the NatWest Cup semi finals, Northampton Saints meanwhile have a number of talented players in their line-up, including last year’s England U18 fly half, James Grayson.

Southern Conference

Bath v London Irish

Bath have had a mixed bag at the start of this U18 campaign, drawing with local rivals Bristol before losing heavily to Harlequins, and then winning an absolute thriller against Gloucester last week, 41-38. They currently sit bang in the middle of the table, in fourth, while London Irish are joint bottom having lost all three of their games. Those defeats have been close though, particularly last week, where they were just three points behind Exeter Chiefs, suggesting that we ought to be in for another tight and exciting game on Saturday.

Bristol v Saracens

Bristol’s two games have seen them draw with Bath and lose to Exeter Chiefs, but they might fancy their chances against a Saracens side who have lost both of their games this season. Saracens do seem to be improving though, a tough loss to Gloucester was far from an ideal start, but last week they tested league leaders Harlequins hard, it took a last minute try from Quins to seal the win. Bristol’s side looks exciting, and is once again led by Millfield’s James Dun.

Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester

From a table standings point of view, this is the biggest game in the Southern Conference this week. Gloucester sits in second with Exeter Chiefs in third. The Chiefs have played twice this season, winning both. They have been close though, Bristol were beaten 21-17, while London Irish got a point closer at 24-21. Gloucester meanwhile have enjoyed a strong win over Saracens, and a high scoring win over London Irish, but lost narrowly in a thriller to bath, 38-41. They have averaged nearly 47 points a game so far though, so Exeter’s defence will have to be spot on if they are to stop them.

If you have any photos, videos, or reports from the weekend’s U18 Academy League, please do send them in via email (writers@fifteenrugby.com ), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FifteenRugby ), or via Twitter (@FifteenRugbyXV).

U18 Academy League Round 4 Fixtures:

Saturday

Bath v London Irish

Bristol v Saracens

Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks

Wasps v Newcastle Falcons

Sunday

Worcester Warriors v Northampton Saints

U18 Academy League Round 3 Results:

Gloucester 38-41 Bath

London Irish 21-24 Exeter Chiefs

Northampton Saints 39-19 Newcastle Falcons

Sale Sharks 12-22 Wasps

Saracens v Harlequins

Yorkshire Carnegie 10-39 Worcester Warriors

U18 Academy League Round 2 Results:

Bristol 17-21 Exeter Chiefs

Harlequins 40-5 Bath

London Irish 32-43 Gloucester

Sale Sharks 37-15 Newcastle Falcons

Worcester Warriors 27-26 Leicester Tigers

Yorkshire Carnegie 14-38 Wasps

U18 Academy League Round 1 Results:

Bath 22-22 Bristol

Gloucester 59-26 Saracens

Harlequins 30-21 London Irish

Newcastle Falcons 29-34 Yorkshire Carnegie

Northampton Saints 41-13 Leicester Tigers

Wasps 28-17 Worcester Warriors

Team News:

Bath – TBA

London Irish – TBA

Bristol

15 Iwan Hughes (SGS Filton College), 14 Tom Hargan (Clifton College), 13 Matt Welsh (Clifton College), 12 Sol Hutchins (Clifton College), 11 Nathan Brooks (Hartpury College), 10 Nathan Chamberlain (SGS Filton College), 9 Blake Boyland (Colstons), 1 Tom Rowland (Bristol GS), 2 Will Capon (Bristol GS), 3 Nick English (SGS Filton College), 4 Sam Tiley (John Cabot), 5 James Dun (c) (Millfield), 6 Nick Freeman (Clifton College), 7 Ethan Organ (Clifton College), 8 Dan Thurston (SGS Filton College).

Replacements: 16 Kieran Wilson (Castle), 17 Stirling Cranham (SGS Filton College), 18 Jack Smart/Ned Smith (SGS Filton College/Bristol GS), 19 Tomi Adegbite (John Cabot), 20 Sam Taylor (SGS Filton College), 21 Kalvin Mills (South Africa Schools), 22 Josh Wright (Millfield), 23 Tommy Foot (Hartpury College).

Saracens – TBA

Exeter Chiefs – TBA

Gloucester – TBA

Leicester Tigers – TBA

Sale Sharks

15 Cameron Redpath, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Conor Doherty, 12 Luke James, 11 Calum Owen, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Matt Sturgess, 1 John Blanchard 2 Nic Dolly, 3 Monty Weatherby, 4 Josef Murphy, 5 Ciaran Booth, 6 Sam Dugdale, 7 Charlie Papworth, 8 Sam Moore (c).

Replacements: 16 Sol Neild, 17 Bevan Rodd, 18 Abdul Khan, 19 Gabriel Johnson-Aley, 20 Jack Granby, 21 Gus Warr, 22 Alex Burrage, 23 Sam Chadwick.

Wasps

15 Wells, 14 Atta, 13 Bellis, 12 Spink, 11 O’Sullivan, 10 Umaga, 9 Porter (c), 1 Salkeld, 2 Barbeary, 3 Dimen, 4 Ehizode, 5 Adamson, 6 Tunney, 7 Seabrook, 8 Willis.

Replacements: 16 Guthrie, 17 Leat, 18 Harris, 19 Mawdsley, 20 Pill, 21 Bishop, 22 Pietersen, 23 Clark.

Newcastle Falcons

15 Kyle Kitney, 14 Josh Hodge, 13 Seb Reece, 12 Charlie Wilson (c), 11 Fraser McNee, 10 Will Haydon-Wood, 9 Cameron Kelemeti, 1 George Martin, 2 Mike Newstead, 3 Tristan Grant, 4 Alex Hayton, 5 Will Montgomery, 6 Rob Farrar, 7 Jack Hutchinson, 8 Tom Marshall.

Replacements: 16 Brad Clements, 17 Isaac Brace, 18 Theo Smith, 19 Josh Gray, 20 Jamie Adamson, 21 Joe Pickering, 22 Chidera Obonna, 23 Morgan Passman.

Worcester Warriors

15 Nick David (Warwick), 14 Christophe Fostier (Bromsgrove), 13 Ollie Lawrence (Bromsgrove), 12 Will Butler (Worcester Academy), 11 Alex Bartley (Solihull), 10 Alex Forrester (Hartpury College), 9 George Wootten (Bromsgrove), 1 Tom Furnival (Worcester Sixth Form College), 2 Beck Cutting (Bromsgrove), 3 Nick Rigby (Warwick), 4 Lawrence Weston (Bromsgrove), 5 James Scott (Malvern College), 6 Tom Fawcett (Warwick), 7 Oli Thorneywork (Warwick), 8 Ted Hill (c) (Worcester Sixth Form College).

Replacements: 16 Cameron Harrison (St John’s College, Zimbabwe), 17 Max Baggs (Cheltenham College), 18 Kai Owen (Telford College of Arts and Technology), 19 Charlie Jeavons-Fellows (The Scots College, Australia), 20 George Butler (Hereford Cathedral School), 21 George Hawkes (Solihull), 22 Louis Jackson (KES Stratford), 23 Dion King (King’s Worcester).

Northampton Saints

15 Joe Green, 14 Tosin Segun, 13 Fraser Strachan, 12 Sam Cappeart, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 James Grayson, 9 Harry Warn, 1 Rhys Charalambous, 2 Samson Ma’asi, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 Jack West, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Joe Britton, 7 Joe Wallace, 8 Devante Onojaife.

Replacements: 16 Luke Riseman, 17 Josaia Wacokecoke, 18 Jasper Dix, 19 Connor Finch, 20 Freddie Davies, 21 Finn Creighton, 22 Connor Tupai, 23 Zac Berrill.