The U18 Academy League is really beginning to take shape following the weekend’s Round 4 fixtures.

In both the Northern Conference and Southern Conference There is a bit of separation between the top and the rest in the league, and with only the top three in each conference heading to finals day, that could be crucial.

Northern Conference

All three games in the Northern Conference took place on Saturday, with both Wasps and Leicester Tigers maintaining their unbeaten starts to the campaign.

Wasps were 26-14 winners over Yorkshire Carnegie at the famous Close pitch at Rugby School, their third win from four, with only a draw at Newcastle stopping them from having a perfect start. It keep them at the top of the table, five points clear of Leicester, who sit in second.

Tigers leapfrogged Worcester Warriors after Saturday’s 42-12 win at Loughborough University. They led 21-0 at the break thanks to scores from Xander Purcell, Zack Godfrey, and Luke Phoenix, Oakham’s Sam Costelow landing all three conversions.

Worcester then made things interesting with two scores after the break but three further from George Martin, Henri Lavin, and Jonny Law saw Tigers seal a commanding win.

The final game in the North saw winless Sale Sharks head to Newcastle Falcons, the only side to have denied leaders Wasps a win. It turned out to be a fantastic day for last year’s finalists, Sale Sharks, beating their rivals 33-14 at Kingston Park. A huge number of Sedbergh School pupils appeared for both sides, notably Sale.

Tom Roebuck scored a hat-trick for the visitors, with Sam Dugdale and Cal Ford also adding tries to cap a superb performance and kick start the young Sale side’s season.

Southern Conference

Two games took place on Saturday in the Southern Conference, with Exeter Chiefs v Bristol kicking off on Sunday.

Gloucester have been in dominant form so far with three bonus point wins from three, but on Saturday they were given a scare by bottom of the table London Irish, who denied the Cherry and Whites the bonus point and so nearly claimed a first win of the season, going down 20-19 in the end.

Saturday’s second game was an absolute thriller as Bath and Harlequins played out a stunning 36-36 draw. It leaves both sides level on 8 points, though Quins have played one game fewer, just three points behind Exeter Chiefs and Saracens, who are leveled in second and third. Gloucester in first look somewhat out on their own.

Bath led 17-12 at half time thanks to a brace from Beechen Cliff outside centre Miles Gilbert and seven points from his schoolmate and fly half Tom De Glanville, in response to Harlequins tries from James Botterill and James Bourton.

Quins evened the scores shortly after through Jon Benz-Salomon, but Bath were soon back in front through Ethan Hutt. The sides continued to exchange score, Louis Lynagh crossing for Quins before a Chris Moore score for the host. Quins then took the lead after two tries from Jordan Bond and a further score from James Botterill, before Rory Murchison crossed late on for Bath, with De Glanville’s conversion sealing the 36-36 draw.

Exeter Chiefs moved into second place with a 38-19 win over Bristol on Sunday lunchtime. Tries came for the home side through Flynn Elworthy, Will Ridout, Francesco Scardamaglia, Bryn-Lee Jago, and a brace from openside Richard Capstick. James Tucker and Olly Toomey added four conversion between them for a convincing win that keeps them ahead of Saracens on points difference.

The league now takes a week’s break before another block of three weekend’s of fixtures in a row, the final three weeks of the league before finals day at the end of February.

As always, if you have any videos, photos, or reports from the weekend’s U18 Academy League rugby, please feel free to send them in via Twitter (@FifteenRugbyXV), Facebook (www.facebook.com/FifteenRugby), Instagram (@fifteenrugbyxv), or through email (writers@fifteenrugby.com).

U18 Academy League Round 4 Results:

Northern Conference

Leicester Tigers 42-12 Worcester Warriors

Newcastle Falcons 14-33 Sale Sharks

Wasps 26-14 Yorkshire Carnegie

Southern Conference

Bath 36-36 Harlequins

Exeter Chiefs 38-19 Bristol

Gloucester 20-19 London Irish

Round 3 Results:

Northern Conference

Newcastle Falcons 41-27 Northampton Saints

Wasps 22-19 Sale Sharks

Worcester Warriors 20-19 Yorkshire Carnegie

Southern Conference

Gloucester 41-33 Exeter Chiefs

London Irish 41-50 Bath

Saracens 38-25 Bristol

Round 2 Results:

Northern Conference

Sale Sharks 6-16 Leicester Tigers

Newcastle Falcons 24-24 Wasps

Northampton Saints 20-26 Worcester Warriors

Southern Conference

Bath 10-66 Gloucester

Exeter Chiefs 48-17 London Irish

Harlequins 12-23 Saracens

Round 1 Results:

Northern Conference

Leicester Tigers 31-31 Northampton Saints

Worcester Warriors 12-55 Wasps

Yorkshire Carnegie 33-19 Newcastle Falcons

Southern Conference

Bristol 32-14 Bath

London Irish 29-43 Harlequins

Saracens 31-34 Gloucester

Team News:

Leicester Tigers

15 Freddie Steward (Norwich), 14 Zack Godfrey (Stamford), 13 Andre Dunn (Langley), 12 Ronnie Du Randt (Denstone College), 11 Luke Phoenix (Langley), 10 Sam Costelow (Oakham), 9 Will Yarnell (Loughborough GS), 1 Keston Lines (Wyggeston & QE College), 2 Jamie Harding (Denstone College), 3 James Whitcombe (Woodhouse Grove), 4 George Martin (Brooksby Melton College), 5 Cameron Jordan (Oakham) (c), 6 Xander Purcell (Wyggeston & QE College), 7 Taylor Gough (Wyggeston & QE College), 8 Henri Lavin (Wyggeston & QE College).

Replacements: 16 Shaun Allsopp (Stamford), 17 Finlay Gibson (Brooksby Melton College), 18 Alex Maxwell (Brooksby Melton College), 19 Willo Bicknell (Langley), 20 Sam Eveleigh (Leicester GS), 21 Jonny Law (Rugby), 22 Sam Wager (Wyggeston & QE College), 23 Joe Browning (Denstone College).

Worcester Warriors

15 Noah Heward (Solihull), 14 Charlie Gamble (Worcester 6th Form College), 13 Rob Lester (Worcester 6th Form College), 12 Paul Wells (Worcester 6th Form College), 11 Ollie Gould (Worcester 6th Form College), 10 Louis Jackson (KES Stratford), 9 Jake Leonard (Worcester 6th Form College), 1 Lewis Holsey (Solihull), 2 Jamie White (Worcester 6th Form College), 3 Max Baggs (Cheltenham College), 4 George Parker (Worcester 6th Form College), 5 Aaron Lawes (KES Five Ways), 6 Oli Thorneywork (Warwick), 7 Will Higgins (Idsall), 8 Tom Fawcett (Warwick).

Replacements: 16 Josh Olver (Droitwich Spa HS), 17 Tom Furnival (Worcester 6th Form College), 18 Lewis Ballinger (Worcester 6th Form College), 19 Tom Berry (RGS Worcester), 20 Ben Turner (Bromsgrove), 21 Tom Williams (Bromsgrove), 22 Josh Phipps (Hartpury College), 23 Alex Haselock (Worcester 6th Form College).

Newcastle Falcons

15 Josh Hodge, 14 Morgan Passman, 13 Chidera Obonna, 12 Nathan Henderson, 11 Harry Jackson, 10 Callum Pascoe, 9 Cameron Kelemeti, 1 Will Elliott, 2 Joe Lashley, 3 Oscar Caudle, 4 Freddy Lockwood, 5 Will Montgomery, 6 Rob Farrar, 7 Eddy Anderson, 8 Tom Marshall.

Replacements: 16 Phil Brantingham, 17 Reece Amir, 18 Jamie Adamson, 19 Will Petiffer, 20 Mason Lewthwaite, 21 Theo Manihera, 22 Matthew Price, 23 Will Roberts.

Sale Sharks

15 Nathan Pope, 14 Tom Roebuck, 13 James Rooney, 12 Cameron Redpath, 11 Raffi Quirke, 10 Tom Curtis, 9 Gus Warr, 1 Alex Brooks, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Cal Ford, 4 Rouban Birch, 5 Jack Hill, 6 Ciaran Booth, 7 Charlie Papworth, 8 Sam Dugdale.

Replacements: 16 Liam Davies, 17 James Harper, 18 Sam Higginson, 19 Josh Hadland, 20 Tom Walsh, 21 Evan Powell, 22 Kieran Wilkinson.

Wasps

15 Phillips, 14 Atta, 13 Anderson, 12 Spink, 11 Young, 10 Atkinson, 9 Kay (vc), 1 Nearchour, 2 Barbeary (c), 3 Roche, 4 Ademuwagun, 5 Mawdsley, 6 Calvert-Evers, 7 Tunney, 8 Jakobsen.

Replacements: 16 Mbaud, 17 Pleasants, 18 West, 19 Vickers, 20 Pill, 21 Mortimer, 22 Lowe, 23 Weatherall.

Yorkshire Carnegie

15 Joe Carpenter (Woodhouse Grove), 14 Joe Gatus (QEGS Wakefield), 13 Andre Robson (Durham), 12 Kieran Wilyman (Woodhouse Grove), 11 James MaGee (Sedbergh), 10 Tom Stephenson (QEGS Wakefield), 9 Joe Green (Woodhouse Grove), 1 Ben Carlile (Pocklington, captain), 2 Ryan Gibson (Woodhouse Grove), 3 Billy Nichols (Benton Park), 4 Adam Hopkinson (Silcoates), 5 Matt Burke (Woodhouse Grove), 6 Harry Williams (Bishop Burton College), 7 Ted Wainwright (Ripon GS), 8 Archie Smeaton (Hymers College).

Replacements: 16 Adam Brown (St Peters, York), 17 Japser McGuire (QEGS Wakefield), 18 Conner Hancock (Bishop Burton College), 19 Tor Borrowdale (Tapton), 20 Will Pritchard (St John Fisher), 21 George Wright (Rishworth), 22 Dan Lancaster (Bishop Burton College), 23 Morgan Bunting (Bishop Burton College), 24 Marcus Payne (Bishop Burton College), 25 Jack Bodman (Hill House).

Bath

15 Orlando Bailey (Thomas Hardye), 14 Ethan Hitt (Beechen Cliff), 13 Miles Gilbert (Beechen Cliff), 12 Will Butt (c) (Canford), 11 Oran McNulty (Millfield), 10 Tom de Glanville (Beechen Cliff), 9 Ben Mead (Beechen Cliff), 1 George Bamsey (Beechen Cliff), 2 Sam Elrick (Bryanston), 3 Archie Griffin (Marlborough College), 4 Chris Moore (Beechen Cliff), 5 Tom Jeanes (Beechen Cliff), 6 Ayden Chenoweth (Beechen Cliff), 7 Will Hendy (Beechen Cliff), 8 Nahum Merigan (Beechen Cliff).

Replacements: 16 Rory Murchison (Kingswood), 17 Jamie Guest (Richard Huish), 18 Si Elrick (Bryanston), 19 Tom Boxer (Bishop Wordworth’s), 20 Max Ojomoh (KES, Bath), 21 Fin French (Sherborne), 22 Harry Swinburne (Millfield), 23 George Worboys (Beechen Cliff).

Harlequins

Forwards:

S Riley (St Georges, Weybridge), J Morris (Whitgift), J Salomon (Whitgift), K Sassone (Sevenoaks), P. Green (Seaford College), H Tizard (Cranleigh), G Hammond (Whitgift), D Cuthbert (City of London Freemens), B Mott (Tonbridge), T Davison (St Johns, Leatherhead), V Everitt (Hartpury College), H Hyde (Cranleigh), J Reid (Wellington College).

Backs:

L Smith (Brighton College), T Allen (Epsom College), J Bourton (Hurstpierpoint), H Barlow (Cranleigh), L Lynagh (Hampton), J Williams (Harrodian), E Dunford (Whigift), J Botterill (Fulbrook), F Sofolarin (Dulwich College), J Bond (St John’s, Leatherhead).

Exeter Chiefs

15 James Tucker, 14 Kian Atkinson, 13 Luke Flack. 12 Robbie Weeks, 11 Archie Hill, 10 Olly Toomey, 9 Sam Maunder (c), 1 Alfie Petch, 2 Will Ridout, 3 Henry Trudgill, 4 Lewis Pearson, 5 Joseph Parker-Cooke, 6 Flynn Elworthy, 7 Richard Capstick, 8 Rus Tuima.

Replacements: 16 Harvey Dunn, 17 Oliver Andrews, 18 Eliot Salt, 19 Cory Teague, 20 Bryn-Lee Jago, 21 James Tait, 22 Francesco Scaramaglia, 23 Dan Lilley.

Bristol

15 Ioan Lloyd (Clifton College), 14 Jack Bates (SGS Filton College), 13 Charlie Powell (Bristol GS), 12 Nathan Chamberlain (SGS Filton College), 11 Iwan Hughes (Bristol Academy), 10 Tom Wilstead (Colston’s), 9 Blake Boyland (SGS Filton College), 1 Charlie Brabham (SGS Filton College), 2 Will Capon (c) (Bristol GS), 3 Nick English (Bristol Academy), 4 George Brazier (Clifton College), 5 Ned Smith (Bristol GS), 6 Tom Ford (SGS Filton College), 7 Ethan Organ (Clifton College), 8 George Kloska (SGS Filton College).

Replacements: 16 Ollie Newey (Christ College), 17 Jay Burley (SGS Filton College), 18 Sean Ihegie (Cabot), 19 Max Murphy (Clifton College), 20 Jake Goodridge (Castle), 21 Ben Roach (SGS Filton College), 22 Soloman Hutchings (Clifton College), 23 Will Hines (Redland Green).

Gloucester

15 Jack Curtis, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 Jack Reeves, 12 Tom Stanton (c), 11 Josh Pimlott, 10 George Barton, 9 Steve Varney, 1 Olly Adkins, 2 Morgan Nelson, 3 Alex Hunt, 4 Archie Tarbuck, 5 Jack Clement, 6 JJ Tonks, 7 Joe Howard, 8 Cam Terry.

Replacements: 16 Bertie Stretch, 17 Shay O’Malley, 18 Ethan Seville, 19 Jonny Holliday, 20 Bailey Watts, 21 Brad Morgan, 22 Tommy Matthews, 23 Isaac Marsh.

London Irish

15 Jack Jesty, 14 Oscar Blanchard, 13 Dan Stoller, 12 Reuben Knight, 11 Ben Harris, 10 Will Sinfield, 9 Sam Clough, 1 Jamie Henson, 2 Ben Atkins, 3 Brandon Baker, 4 Chunya Munga, 5 Lee Moore, 6 Gwilym Bradley, 7 Josh Smart, 8 Ben Donnell.

Replacements: 16 Edward Cockman, 17 Oisin Kearney, 18 Jack Belcher, 19 Jacob Culley-Wilson, 20 Toby Smith, 21 Gruffydd Williams, 22 Phillip Cokanasiga, 23 Alex Young.