Round 6 of the U18 Academy League took place this weekend, with two sides completing their fixtures for the league stage of the season, whilst the rest have one remaining ahead of finals day later in the month.
Unbeaten records went, while plenty of tries were scored, and there was even a draw on what was truly a thrilling weekend.
Northern Conference
Worcester Warriors moved to the top of the Northern Conference as they beat bottom club Newcastle Falcons, who are still without a win with just one game to play. Worcester’s 34-17 victory at Kingston Park sees them head Sale Sharks and Wasps by just a point but with both of those sides in action next week, as well as Northampton Saints who can level with Worcester, they look likely to miss out on that top spot and a place in the U18 Academy League final.
Wasps were not in action, which allowed Sale Sharks to overtake them on points difference after they beat Northampton Saints, who started the day above them, by an impressive 43-27 margin at Manchester Grammar School. The result means that a win over Yorkshire Carnegie next week will see Sale into the final, provided that Wasps do not better their result at home to Northampton Saints. It was a bit of a disastrous result for Saints, all but ruling them out of a chance to secure a place in the main final.
The final game in the Northern Conference saw Yorkshire Carnegie make the trip to Leciester Tigers’ Oval Park. Both sides arrived with just a single win to their each of their names, and they were both to depart like that after a rare 20-20 draw saw the sides share the honours and maintain their positions in fifth and 6th in the table, meaning Leicester cannot now finish bottom and it would be highly unlikely that Yorkshire Carnegie would either.
Southern Conference
Harlequins guaranteed their place as the Southern Conference representative in the U18 Academy League Final, despite still having a game to play. They did so thanks to a thrilling 38-33 win away at Gloucester, a game that really could have gone either way as the score swung back and forth on Sunday afternoon. Once news filtered through that Exeter had lost to Saracens, Quins were guaranteed their place in the final, being six points ahead of Exeter. The two actually play each other next week, but for Quins it will be something of a dead rubber, a shame for fans who would have liked a winner takes all top of the table clash, but good news for Quins, for whom an away trip to Exeter would have been a tough game.
Exeter Chiefs, as mentioned, went down 34-17 at home to a Saracens side in fine form. The defeat keeps Exeter in second, but Saracens have shot up the table, closing to within a point of them. With Exeter facing Quins next week, and Saracens at home to a Bath side with just one win to their name this season, Saracens will fancy their chances of climbing a place higher come the end of the final round.
Finally in the South there was a win for London Irish in their final league game of the season. They beat bottom club Bristol, whose defeat confirms that they will finish bottom, saw them climb a place in the table, leapfrogging Bath for 5th. Bath could yet over take them if they beat Saracens next week though, while Bristol will hope to record a first win when they host 4th placed Gloucester.
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).
Image via Dave Hutchings
U18 Academy League Round 6 Results:
Exeter Chiefs 17-34 Saracens
Gloucester 33-38 Harlequins
Leicester Tigers 20-20 Yorkshire Carnegie
London Irish 34-26 Bristol
Sale Sharks 43-27 Northampton Saints
Newcastle Falcons 17-34 Worcester Warriors
U18 Academy League Round 7 Fixtures:
Northern Conference
Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers
Wasps v Northampton Saints
Yorkshire Carnegie v Sale Sharks
Southern Conference
Bristol v Gloucester
Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins
Saracens v Bath
U18 Academy League Standings – Northern Conference | |||||||
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | Worcester Warriors | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 20 |
2 | Sale Sharks | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 |
3 | Wasps | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 |
4 | Northampton Saints | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
5 | Leicester Tigers | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
6 | Yorkshire Carnegie | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
7 | Newcastle Falcons | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
U18 Academy League Standings – Southern Conference | |||||||
Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BP | Points |
1 | Harlequins | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 24 |
2 | Exeter Chiefs | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 18 |
3 | Saracens | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 17 |
4 | Gloucester | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 15 |
5 | London Irish | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
6 | Bath | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
7 | Bristol | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
Team News:
Leicester Tigers
15 Ollie Russell, 14 Ryan Olowofela, 13 James Martin, 12 Sam Wager, 11 Zack Godfrey, 10 Jacob Fewtrell, 9 Will Yarnell, 1 Oscar Harper, 2 Jack Dickinson, 3 Joe Heyes (c), 4 Cameron Jordan, 5 Morgan Jones, 6 Ben Taylor, 7 Taylor Gough, 8 Thom Smith.
Replacements: 16 Corey Lewis, 17 Mason Coulam, 18 Joe Latham, 19 Xander Purcell, 20 Joe Hegarty, 21 George Dickinson, 22 Will Findlay, 23 Harry Garforth, 24 Chaz Dixon.
Yorkshire Carnegie
15 Louis Brown, 14 Rian Hamilton, 13 Will Fordy, 12 Sam Brooke, 11 Joe Gatus, 10 Harry Davey, 9 Oli Fox (c), 1 Billy Nicholls, 2 Ollie Rayner, 3 Will Booth, 4 Elliot Ward, 5 Adam Hopkinson, 6 Max Hanson, 7 Hugo Tasker, 8 Tom Williams.
Replacements: 16 Jacques Haddleton, 17 Ed Martin, 18 Peri Michael, 19 Ryan Gibson, 20 Edan Kelly, 21 Sam Wolstenholme, 22 Morgan Bunting, 23 George Bastow.
London Irish
15 Connor Burns, 14 Ronan Maloney, 13 Inya Rarawa, 12 Rory McMichael, 11 Jack Jesty, 10 Russell Bennett, 9 Harry Delaney, 1 Ben Connor , 2 Callum Torpey, 3 Jamie Henson, 4 Ben Donnell, 5 Harry Butler, 6 Elliot Quinton, 7 Henry Fuller, 8 Josh Basham.
Replacements: 16 Jimmy Barrett, 17 Sam Drayson, 18 Joe Toguri, 19 Max Ayling, 20 Josh Smart, 21 Sam Bridges, 22 Reuben Knight, 23 Oscar Blanchard.
Bristol
15 Iwan Hughes (SGS Filton), 14 Lailand Gordon (SGS Filton), 13 Josh Wright (Millfield) 12 Sol Hutchings (Clifton College), 11 Tom Hargan (Clifton College), 10.Sam Perry (Hartpury), 9 Blake Boyland (Colston’s), 1 Kieran Wilson (Castle), 2 Will Capon (BGS), 3 Nick English (SGS Filton), 4 Rami James (SGS Filton), 5 James Dun (c) (Millfield), 6 Nick Freeman (Clifton College), 7 Sam Tiley (John Cabot), 8 George Kloska (SGS Filton).
Replacements: 16 Stirling Cranham (BGS), 17 Ignacio Cortes (Argentina Schools), 18 Ned Smith (BGS), 19 Ethan Organ (Clifton College), 20 Tomi Adegbite (Bristol Brunel), 21 Ollie Nicholas (Clifton College), 22 Nathan Chamberlain (SGS Filton), 23 Tommy Foot (Hartpury).
Sale Sharks
15 Calum Owen, 14 Arron Reed, 13 Conor Doherty, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Tom Walsh, 10 Kieran Wilkinson, 9 Matt Sturgess, 1 Bevan Rodd, 2 Nic Dolly, 3 Monty Weatherby, 4 Josef Murphy, 5 Ciaran Booth, 6 Charlie Papworth, 7 Luke James, 8 Sam Dugdale.
Replacements: 16 Sol Neild, 17 John Blanchard, 18 Jack Granby, 19 Teddy Leatherbarrow, 20 Rouban Birch, 21 Kieran Dunne, 22 Sam Chinomona.
Northampton Saints
15 Joe Green, 14 Tosin Segun, 13 Fraser Dingwall, 12 Fraser Strachan, 11 Ollie Slightholme, 10 James Grayson, 9 Harry Warn, 1 Rhys Charalambous, 2 Samson Ma’asi, 3 Ehren Painter, 4 Jasper Dix, 5 Alex Coles, 6 Freddie Davies, 7 Joe Britton, 8 Devante Onojaife.
Replacements: 16 George Seward, 17 Luke Risman, 18 Jack West, 19 Connor Finch, 20 Joe Wallace, 21 Finn Creighton, 22 Connor Tupai, 23 Sam Cappeart.
Newcastle Falcons
15 Morgan Passman, 14 Josh Hodge, 13 Kyle Kitney, 12 Josh Watson, 11 Fraser McNee, 10 Jake Rogers, 9 Cameron Kelemeti, 1 Jack Johnson, 2 Mike Newstead, 3 Tristan Grant, 4 Alex Hayton, 5 Will Montgomery, 6 Rob Farrer, 7 Ben Walton, 8 Tom Marshall.
Replacements: 16 Brad Clements, 17 Isaac Brace, 18 Reece Amir, 19 Josh Gray, 20 Jamie Adamson, 21 Alex Pantechis, 22 Joe Pickering, 23 Seb Reece.
Worcester Warriors
15 Jake Leonard (Worcester 6th Form College), 14 Alex Bartley (Solihull), 13 Dion King (King’s Worcester), 12 Oliver Lawrence (Bromsgrove), 11 Christophe Fostier (Bromsgrove), 10 Alex Forrester (Hartpury College), 9 George Wootten (Bromsgrove), 1 Tom Furnival (Worcester 6th Form College), 2 Beck Cutting (Bromsgrove), 3 Nick Rigby (Warwick), 4 Lawrence Weston (Bromsgrove), 5 James Scott (Malvern College), 6 Tom Fawcett (Warwick), 7 Charlie Jevons-Fellows (The Scots College, Australia), 8 Ted Hill (c) (Worcester 6th Form College).
Replacements: 16 Cameron Harrison (St John’s College, Zimbabwe), 17 Will Sutton (Worcester 6th Form College), 18 Kai Owen (Telford College of Arts & Technology), 19 Owen Davis (King’s Worcester), 20 Oli Thorneywork (Warwick), 21 George Hawkes (Solihull), 22 Lewis Dorey (Worcester 6th Form College), 23 Rob Lester (Worcester 6th Form College).
Exeter Chiefs
15 Finn Marks, 14 Jake Penpras, 13 Toby Wiliams, 12 Joe Elderkin, 11 AJ Cant, 10 Gwyn Parks, 9 Sam Maunder, 1 Danny Southworth, 2 Ben Phillips, 3 Marcus Street, 4 Joseph Parker Cooke, 5 Lewis Pearson, 6 Charlie Wright, 7 Will Gibson, 8 Rusi Tuima.
Replacements: 16 Will Ridout, 17 Alfie Petch, 18 Danny Martin, 19 Torin Clarke, 20 Max Norey, 21 Ollie Gibbon, 22 Devon Jewsbury, 23 Angus Hallum.
Saracens – N/A
Gloucester
15 Dunn, 14 Morgan, 13 Seabrook 12. Cole (c), 11 Reeves, 10 Penny, 9 Chapman, 1 O’Malley, 2 Walker, 3 Bartlett, 4 Bennion, 5 Allen, 6 North, 7 Tonks, 8 Hinkley.
Replacements: 16 A Seville, 17 Haly, 18 E Seville; 19 Holliday, 20 Watts, 21 Terry, 22 Fenley, 23 Stanton.
Harlequins (from)
Forwards George Head (Tonbridge), Jacob Morris (Whitgift), Callum Tilleray (Wellington College), Blaize Mott (Tonbridge), Kieran Sassone (Sevenoaks), Kareem Swandells (St John’s), Hugh Tizard (Cranleigh), Henry Paremain (RGS Guildford), John Okafor (Wellington College), Jack Glover (Harrow), Vincent Everitt (Hartpury College), Dan Cuthbert (City of London Freemans), Luke James (Brighton College).
Backs Tom Nicole (Cranleigh), Caolan Englefield (St Paul’s, Sunbury), Marcus Smith (Brighton College), Harry Barlow (Cranleigh), Sunni Jardine (Dulwich College), Jake Hennessey (KCS Wimbledon), Will Sanders (St John’s), Cadan Murley (Bishop Wordsworth), Miles McDuffus (Lord Wandsworth College), Max Coyle (Reigate).
U18 Academy League Round 5 Results:
Bath 28-35 Exeter Chiefs
Harlequins 55-12 Bristol
Leicester Tigers 31-5 Wasps
Northampton Saints 43-19 Yorkshire Carnegie
Saracens 38-31 London Irish
Worcester Warriors 0-27 Sale Sharks
U18 Academy League Round 4 Results:
Bath 19-20 London Irish
Bristol 21-59 Saracens
Exeter Chiefs 34-26 Gloucester
Leicester Tigers 19-29 Sale Sharks
Wasps 30-3 Newcastle Falcons
Worcester Warriors 43-16 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
Leave a Response