U18 Academy League: Tigers and Irish through to the Final

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Leicester Tigers and London Irish will meet in the U18 Academy League final after victory this weekend sealed both of their places, despite the competition still having a round to play.

 

The other sides at finals day, where top in the north meets top in the south in the final, second meets second for third place, and third meets third for fifth, are yet to be finalised. Representing the north will be two of Newcastle Falcons, Worcester Warriors, and Wasps, while in the south one of Saracens, Bath, or Harlequins will finish second, a list that expands to include Bristol Bears and Gloucester in the race for third in the conference.

 

Northern Conference

 

Leicester Tigers beat Worcester Warriors 31-22 to seal their place as the top finishers in the conference and the only side that remains unbeaten in either conference. The victory for the back to back champions also pushed Worcester Warriors from second place at the start of the day to third by the end, though they are level with Newcastle Falcons.

 

Newcastle rise from fourth to second came thanks to a 40-19 victory at Yorkshire Carnegie, who are still yet to win a game. It leaves Newcastle level with Worcester and a point clear of Wasps, two clear of Sale Sharks, who started the day in third and finished it in fifth.

 

That was as a result of a 31-21 defeat away to Wasps, a result that leaves Sale unable to reach finals day, despite being so close, as they have now completed all their games and have a bye next weekend. For Wasps it was a timely victoy, moving them from being four points adrift of a top 3 finish to just one point with a game remaining. They have a tricky task as it is Leicester Tigers they are hosting, but with Leicester already guaranteed to play in the final, there could just be an opening. Worcester Warriors will meanwhile need to make sure Yorkshire Carnegie do not get their first victory, while Newcastle have to get the job done against Northampton Saints.

 

Southern Conference

 

It was London Irish’s final game of the league section of the campaign this weekend, and they signed off in style, dominating in a 47-19 victory away to Exeter Chiefs to seal the top seeding from the Southern Conference. With a game remaining for the rest, they sit six points clear of second placed Saracens and are therefore guaranteed to be in the final on Sunday 16th February.

 

Saracens remain in second despite a 24-21 defeat of Gloucester and remain strong contenders to finish either second or third, but defeat cost them the chance to catch London Irish and does leave them vulnerable to the challenge form below, which now also includes Gloucester, whose victory at Allianz Park now means that they can finish third.

Image via Scrumpix, click photo for more
Image via Scrumpix, click photo for more

As can Bristol Bears, who similarly sprung a surprise by beating Harlequins 32-21. Bristol had started the day bottom of the conference and Harlequins in fourth, by the end Quins were still in fourth, but Bristol had moved to with two points of them.

 

It should all make for an exciting final round, Saracens and Harlequins meet, with Bath and Gloucester also meeting, likely meaning that the two winners will go through, however with the right combination of results, Bristol could also sneak in, they face bottom of the table Exeter Chiefs.

 

Please do get in touch with your stories, photos, videos, reports, and opinions from the week’s U18 Academy League rugby! You can get in touch via any of the below methods:

 

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Email: writers@fifteenrugby.com

 

U18 Academy League Round 6 Results:

 

North

Leicester Tigers 31-22 Worcester Warriors

Yorkshire Carnegie 19-40 Newcastle Falcons

Wasps 31-21 Sale Sharks

South

Exeter Chiefs 19-47 London Irish

Bristol Bears 32-21 Harlequins

Saracens 21-24 Gloucester

 

 U18 Academy League Tables:

 

Northern Conference
PosTeamPWDLBPsPoints
1Leicester Tigers5500323
2Newcastle Falcons5302416
3Worcester Warriors5302416
4Wasps5302315
5Sale Sharks6303214
6Northampton Saints510426
7Yorkshire Carnegie500522

 

Northern Conference
PosTeamPWDLBPsPoints
1Leicester Tigers4400218
2Worcester Warriors4301315
3Sale Sharks5302214
4Newcastle Falcons4202311
5Wasps4202210
6Northampton Saints510426
7Yorkshire Carnegie400422

 

Southern Conference
PosTeamPWDLBPsPoints
1London Irish6501722
2Saracens5302416
3Bath5302214
4Harlequins5203412
5Bristol Bears5203210
6Gloucester5203210
7Exeter Chiefs510415

 

Southern Conference
PosTeamPWDLBPsPoints
1London Irish5401622
2Saracens4301315
3Bath5302214
4Harlequins4202412
5Exeter Chiefs410315
6Gloucester410315
7Bristol Bears410315

 

Teams News:

 

Leicester Tigers

15 Ollie Smith, 14 Josh Lugsden, 13 Cormac Calnan, 12 Matt Potts, 11 Jake Sterland, 10 Charlie Titcombe, 9 Sam Edwards (co-capt), 1 Seb Smith, 2 Archie Vanes (co-capt), 3 Jack Rowntree, 4Bobby Singer, 5 Callum Oakden, 6 Phil Tandoh, 7 Kit Smith, 8 Jordan Tebbatt.

Replacements: 16 Joe Plunkett, 17 Lynx Noumey, 18 Tim Hoyt, 19 Ben Muncaster, 20 Noah Leo, 21 Jed Gelderbloom, 22 Billy Hull, 23 Henry Joule.

 

Worcester Warriors

15 Fin Morgan, 14 Alex Evans, 13 Harry Spencer, 12 James Mann, 11 Tobi Wilson, 10 Finn Smith (c), 9 Tom Miles, 1 Mitch Reeve, 2 Jon Lilley, 3 Ben Murphy, 4 Charlie Hagen, 5 Ewan Guy, 6 Jack Lewis, 7 Fin Thomas, 8 Jack Forsythe.

Replacements: 16 Joe Richardson, 17 Ben Rowley, 19 Adam Lane, 20 Ollie Wynn, 21 Josh Harrison, 22 Isaac Wilding.

 

Yorkshire Carnegie

15 Willem Johnson, 14 Amrit Sharma, 13 Obi Ene, 12 Joe Mounsey, 11 Jack Cherry, 10 Tom Georgiou, 9 Tom Parkin, 1 Ed Hasdell, 2 Ethan Myers, 3 Ned Hawker, 4 Harry Gilson-Fox, 5 Kobby Fofie, 6 Olly Tomalin, 7 Jacob Head, 8 George Bennett-Teare.

Replacements: 16 Oscar Stott, 17 Billy Addy, 18 Will Dixon, 19 Seb Lee, 20 Patrick Tablakia, 21 Will Metcalfe, 22 Jonty Mainey, 23 Benedict Quinn.

 

Newcastle Falcons

15 Tom Robinson, 14 Evan Lawther, 13 Ewan Greenlaw, 12 Thomas Moore, 11 Matty Ward, 10 James Blackett, 9 James Naylor, 1 Mark Dormer, 2 Ollie Feltcher, 3 Phil Brantingham, 4 Ben Robson, 5 Innes Hill, 6 Marcus Tiffen, 7 Guy Pepper, 8 Owen Vassallo.

Replacements: 16 Toby Peach, 17 Matty Siddle, 18 Drew Thompson, 19 Sam Shanks, 20 Matty Deehan, 21 Ben Douglas, 22 Nathan Gough, 23 Joe Beaty.

 

Wasps

15 Olly Hartley (Whitgift), 14 Luke Bray (RGS High Wycombe), 13 Toby Baldwin (Rugby), 12 Reketi Ma’asi (Harrow), 11 Scott Harman (City of Oxford College), 10 Charlie Atkinson (Abingdon, captain), 9 Ollie Monye (The Oratory), 1 Archie McArthur (City of Oxford College), 2 Dan Eckersley (Bloxham), 3 Max Morphey (City of Oxford College), 4 Alfie Bell (King Henry VIII, Coventry), 5 Fyn Brown (Shiplake College), 6 Jack English (Coventry College), 7 Kofi Cripps (Rugby), 8 Greg Fisilau (City of Oxford College).

Replacements: 16 Andy Petros (City of Oxford College), 17 James Coombs (Abingdon), 18 Isaac Kayada (Rugby), 19 Mason Nicholls (City of Oxford College), 20 Mason Micholls (City of Oxford College), 21 Jack Hughes (Rugby), 22 Tane Dunn (Langley), 23 Ollie Dawkins (RGS High Wycombe).

 

Sale Sharks

15 Elliot Gourlay, 14 Cameron Melville, 13 Roma Zheng, 12 Joe Bedlow, 11 Fraser Jones, 10 Patrick Bishop, 9 Eddie Melhuish, 1 Tumy Onasanya, 2 Ethan Caine, 3 Corey Bowker, 4 Nonso Agina, 5 Huw Davies, 6 Alastair Merrill, 7 John Bailey, 8 Ollie Leatherbarrow.

Replacements: 16 Pan Stylianou, 17 Harris Fishwick, 18 Louis Fletcher, 19 Marcus Blake, 20 Alfie Clark, 21 Archie Kellett, 22 Josh Clarke, 23 Sam Carleton.

 

Exeter Chiefs

15 Charlie Levick, 14 Billy Orchard, 13 Kian Gentry, 12 Archie Hill, 11 Frankie Nowell, 10 Iwan Jenkins, 9 Tom Cairns (c), 1 Ethan Pearce-Cowley, 2 Oli Jeffrey, 3 Bailey Williams, 4 Christ Tshiunza, 5 Sam Leworthy, 6 Milo Hallam, 7 Joe Elsworth, 8 Ben Grubb.

Replacements: 16 Matt Pritchard, 17 Dylan Arthur, 18 Cam Leigh, 19 Tommy Woodward, 20 Ellis Baldry, 21 Will Becconsall, 22 Charlie McCaig, 23 Nathan Richmond.

 

London Irish

15 Ben Fitzgerald, 14 Harry Arundell, 13 Will Joseph, 12 Matt Barrett, 11 Finley Brown, 10 Monty Bradbury, 9 Rory Morgan, 1 Tarek Haffar, 2 Joe Vajner (c), 3 Joe Keohane, 4 Michael Mason, 5 Edwin Zaimovic, 6 Lucas Brooke, 7 George Davis, 8 Marcus Rhodes.

Replacements: 16 Alessandro Heaney, 17 Mikey Summerfield, 18 Oscar Jansen, 19 Nicholas Teague, 20 Ethan Pawdyira, 21 Dan Ormond, 22 Niall McGann, 23 Jesper Hartikainen.

 

Bristol Bears

15 Chay Mullins, 14 Deago Bailey, 13 Harrison Rowson, 12 Dylan Power, 11 Ollie Holliday, 10 Tom Wilstead, 9 Angus Judkins, 1 Andrew Turner, 2 Thomas Gwilliam, 3 George Perry, 4 Spike Jangen, 5 Charlie Rice, 6 George Taylor, 7 Jamie Collier (c), 8 MacEnzie Duncan.

Replacements: 16 Jalen Curry, 17 Tom Sims, 18 Aaron Thompson, 19 Alex Ashton, 20 Mason Hughes, 21 Cal Smith, 22 Jac Lloyd, 23 Matt Jones.

 

Harlequins

15 Tusler, 14 Ojo, 13 Beard, 12 Bradley, 11 Cleaves, 10 Lynagh, 9 Potter, 1 Ofori-Manteaw, 2 Staples, 3 Baxter, 4 Green, 5 Corbett, 6 Timpson, 7 Alikhan, 8 Johnson.

Replacements: 16 Matthews, 17 Wilding, 18 Stanton, 19 Jibulu, 20 O’Byrne-Nestor, 21 Wyllie, 22 Kolade.

 

Saracens

15 Tobias Elliott, 14 Francis Moore, 13 Tom Mills, 12 Josh Robson-Groom, 11 Brandon Jackson, 10 Alex Cahill, 9 Sam Bryan, 1 Tristan Smith, 2 Samson Adejimi, 3 Zack Hill, 4 Kaden Pearce-Paul, 5 Alex Wardell, 6 Toby Ponsford, 7 Callum McGurk, 8 Toby Knight.

Replacements: 16 Ehimen Osebor, 17 Alfie Goater, 18 Terrel Harry, 19 Obinna Nkwocha, 20 Matt Cannon, 21 Charles Favell, 22 Jasper Sorrell, 23 Wilson Ijeh.

 

Gloucester

15 Goring, 14 Shuttleworth, 13 Hillman-Cooper (cc), 12 Howells, 11 Rowland, 10 Adderly-Jones, 9 Jones, 1 Lascelles, 2 Veness, 3 Reading, 4 Clark, 5 Sprague, 6 Hart, 7 Taylor (cc), 8 Thomas.

Replacements: 16 Hewitt, 17 Tyson, 18 Marshall, 19 Golding, 20 Scriven, 21 Gipson, 22 Humphreys, 23 Baron.

 

U18 Academy League Results:

 

Round 1

North

Leicester Tigers 25-12 Northampton Saints

Wasps 54-12 Yorkshire Carnegie

Sale Sharks 22-20 Worcester Warriors

South

Saracens 31-19 Exeter Chiefs

Bristol Bears 18-17 Bath

Gloucester 10-22 London Irish

 

Round 2

North

Newcastle Falcons 42-24 Wasps

Yorkshire Carnegie 28-50 Northampton Saints

Sale Sharks 18-27 Leicester Tigers

South

Gloucester 36-25 Bristol Bears

London Irish 41-31 Harlequins

Bath 26-14 Saracens

 

Round 3

North

Worcester Warriors 33-21 Wasps

Leicester Tigers 19-0 Newcastle Falcons

Northampton Saints 24-37 Sale Sharks

South

Harlequins 41-15 Gloucester

London Irish 28-34 Saracens

Exeter Chiefs 7-22 Bath

 

Round 4

North

Yorkshire Carnegie 17-28 Leicester Tigers

Northampton Saints 19-36 Worcester

Newcastle Falcons 29-22 Sale Sharks

South

London Irish 29-17 Bath

Harlequins 21-12 Exeter Chiefs

Saracens 29-12 Bristol Bears

 

Round 5

North

Northampton Saints 15-52 Wasps

Worcester Warriors 22-19 Newcastle Falcons

Sale Sharks 19-14 Yorkshire Carnegie

South

Bristol Bears 19-46 London Irish

Gloucester 5-29 Exeter Chiefs

Bath 40-36 Harlequins

 

U18 Academy League Fixtures

 

Round 7

North

Wasps v Leicester Tigers – Sat 8th Feb, 1pm, Aylesbury RFC

Newcastle Falcons v Northampton Saints – Sat 8th Feb, 2pm, Kingston Park

Worcester Warriors v Yorkshire Carnegie – Sat 8th Feb, 2pm, Sixways

South

Harlequins v Saracens – Sat 8th Feb, 1.30pm, Surrey Sports Park

Bath v Gloucester – Sat 8th Feb, 2pm, Millfield School

Exeter Chiefs v Bristol Bears – Sat 8th Feb, 2pm, Truro College

 

Finals Day – Sunday 16th February

Final – Leicester Tigers v London Irish

3rd Place – Newcastle/Worcester/Wasps v Saracens/Bath/Harlequins

5th Place – Newcastle/Worcester/Wasps v Saracens/Bath/Quins/Bristol/Gloucs

 

Images via Simon Rhodes and Scrumpix – head to http://www.scrumpix.co.uk/apps/wordpress/ for images from the Bath v Harlequins U18 Academy League game last weekend.

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