The second round of the 2021/22 Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League takes place on Thursday, just a few short days after the superb opening round.

As things stand, all six fixtures across the two conferences are on ahead of a sixteen day break before the third round on the 8^th and 9^th January. The 14 teams are split across two pools of seven, North and South, with each side facing the others in the their pool once over the course of the next couple of months before facing their counterpart from the opposing Pool on the 19^th/20^th February, the top side from each pool will meet in the Final for the Academy League title, last competed for in 2020 where Leicester Tigers and London Irish shared the spoils after a draw.

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Round 2 Preview (All games on Thursday)

North Pool

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks – 2pm, Leicester Forest RFC

As well as a share of the title in 2020, Leicester Tigers won the previous two editions of this competition but they were off to a tough start in round 1, a 36-22 defeat to Northampton Saints. This week they take on Sale Sharks, whose campaign began with an absolute blinder away at Worcester Warriors on Saturday, winning 40-13. Sale make just one change to that side, with Patreece Bell promoted to the starting fifteen at tighthead from the bench last week, meanwhile Will Riley in a new addition to the bench for Sale Sharks, who are once again skipper by number 8 Huw Davies. Tigers, meanwhile, have made a few changes, Denstone College’s Joseph Dickson and alexander Garrett come in to the back three, while Oakham’s Ben Taylor is in at fly half and has a new half back partner in there too, Leicester Grammar’s Oscar McCarthy, Joseph Woodward continues to skipper the side from the centres. Up front Oakham’s Oliver Crane comes in at tighthead with schoolmate Dan Ormerod coming into the second row, Brooksby Melton’s Chester Owen comes in at number 8, meanwhile schoolmate Matt Durbridge is a new addition on the bench.

Leicester Tigers

15 Joseph Dickson (Denstone College), 14 Alexander Garrett (Denstone College), 13 George Loose (Gresham’s, 12 Joseph Woodward (Brooksby Melton College, captain), 11 Samuel Jacques (Brooksby Melton College), 10 Ben Taylor (Oakham), 9 Oscar McCarthy (Leicester Grammar), 1 Jack Hurst (Brooksby Melton College), 2 Charlie Barraclough (Denstone College), 3 Oliver Crane (Oakham), 4 Finn Carnduff (Leicester Grammar), 5 Dan Ormerod (Oakham), 6 Simon Koroiyadi (Trent College), 7 Joshua Manz (Northampton School for Boys), 8 Chester Owen (Brooksby Melton College).

Replacements: 16 Max Nolan (Brooksby Melton College), 17 Tom Wand (Brooksby Melton College), 18 Nathan Hind (Brooksby Melton College), 19 Callum Richardson (Gresham’s), 20 Oliver Arnold (Uppingham), 21 Matt Durbridge (Brooksby Melton College), 22 Oscar van Deventer (Denstone College), 23 Max Fairlie (King’s Grantham).

Sale Sharks

15 Leo Zheng, 14 Ben Verbickas, 13 Aaron Pope, 12 Ben Motamed, 11 Owain Williams, 10 Charlie Wardle, 9 Will Wootton, 1 Jack Ellam, 2 Harry Thompson, 3 Patreece Bell, 4 Oscar Walsh, 5 Ellis Causey, 6 Yande Nkonge, 7 Tristan Woodman, 8 Huw Davies (c).

Replacements: 16 Charlie Bancroft, 17 Gareth Parry, 18 Theo Bishop, 19 Frank Chatterton, 20 Will Riley, 21 Niall Povall, 22 Fin Rogers, 23 Alex Whitfield.

Northampton Saints v Yorkshire Academy – 2pm, Bedford Athletic

Northampton Saints must be absolutely flying in camp after that opening round defeat of Leicester Tigers and they have kept a relatively settled side, with just four changes from that side. Radley College’s Toby Thame comes in at fly half and it’s an all new half back partnership as Ipswich’s Harry Hall is in at 9. Up front Bedford’s Callum Smith gets a start at loosehead, while Aiden Kabi of Oundle comes in at lock. Meanwhile on the bench Stamford’s Will Baker, Ipswich’s Keon Sylvester, and Rugby’s Tommy Taylor all get their chance after missing out last week. Up against Saints are the Yorkshire Academy, whose work remains utterly incredible given their lack of an affiliate club for their players. Their efforts to promote the achievement, efforts, and ability of their players, are surely the standard by with all 13 other academies must soon start measuring themselves. On the field last week they had a tough outing against Wasps, going down 36-0 so this week they will be hoping for a better outcome. There has been a fair bit of injury enforced rejigging to the side too, skipper Harris moves from scrum half to fly half, with Parkin getting a start at 9. Up front Derbyshire moves from tighthead to loosehead, with Raymont coming in at tight, while Du Boulay moves from six to 8 and Billington and McCormack come into the side other sides of him, meanwhile Spruyt, Smith, and Carswell are on the bench after missing out last time around.

Northampton Saints

15 Jody Devine (Samuel Whitbread), 14 Ethan Thorne (St Joseph’s College), 13 Toby Cousins (Oakham), 12 Archie Kean (Royal Hospital School), 11 Frankie Sleightholme (Northampton School for Boys), 10 Toby Thame (Radley College), 9 Harry Hall (Ipswich), 1 Callum Smith (Bedford), 2 Craig Wright (Felsted), 3 Nicholas Tarr (Mark Rutherford), 4 Aiden Kabi (Oundle), 5 Carn Richards-Farr (Birchwood High), 6 George Lavender (Colchester RGS), 7 Ted Reid (Colchester RGS), 8 George Patten (Northampton School for Boys).

Replacements: 16 Will Baker (Stamford), 17 Sam Ferrari (Samuel Whitbread Academy), 18 Dave Bennett (Rugby), 19 Levi Wilson (St Joseph’s College), 20 Keon Sylvester (Ipswich), 21 Archie McParland (Stowe), 22 Tommy Taylor (Rugby), 23 Ewan Baker (Stowe).

Yorkshire Academy

15 F Yates, 14 G Worthington, 13 B Horberry, 12 D Talakai, 11 O Aston, 10 J Harris (c), 9 B Parkin, 1 H Derbyshire, 2 L Inman, 3 T Raymont, 4 T Burrow, 5 H Mathew, 6 J Billington, 7 C McCormack, 8 H du Boulay.

Replacements: 16 B Spruyt, 17 H Hussain, 18 A Smith, 19 T Peach, 21 T Carswell, 22 G Chaffer.

Wasps v Newcastle Falcons – 3pm, Broadstreet RFC

Each week one side in each pool has a bye, in the North it is Worcester Warriors this week but last week it was Newcastle Falcons. That means that this week is their 2021/22 U18 Academy League debut, and they face Wasps, who were on flying form in their 36-0 defeat of Yorkshire Academy last time out. Wasps make four changes from that side, Barnett coming in at full back while Evans moves from inside centre to outside centre, allowing Myall to come in at 12. Up front McDermott starts at seconds row, alongside skipper Hornby, while Blakesley-Grimes comes in on the opsneside. Meanwhile on the bench Silman, Pittman, Newcombe, West, and Sweeting all get their chance. Newcastle Falcons’ side sees RGS Newcastle’s Ewan Venerus at 8 alongside Will Gibbons and the outstandingly named Braemar Murray, meanwhile at fullback look out for Murray’s Sedbergh teammate Ben Redshaw at full back, whom you may have seen scoring a wonder try against Wellington College in our live stream last month.

Wasps

15 D Barnett, 14 E Rokodrava, 13 W Evans, 12 C Myall, 11 W Glister, 10 J Annand, 9 M Winterburn, 1 C Aitchison, 2 K Jones, 3 A Opoku-Fordjour, 4 M Hornby (c), 5 B McDermott, 6 R Logan, 7 W Blakesley-Grimes, 8 B Pogson.

Replacements: 16 H Silman, 17 K Pittam, 18 J Farmer, 19 C Bell, 20 Z Newcombe, 21 L Casilio, 22 C West, 23 R Sweeting.

Newcastle Falcons

15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Jake Metcalfe, 13 Jez Civil, 12 Will Hindle, 11 Oz Roberts, 10 Harry Williams, 9 Ben Douglas, 1 Micky Rewcastle, 2 Charlie Smith, 3 Morgan Hall, 4 Finn Baker, 5 Luke Coulston, 6 Braemar Murray, 7 Will Gibbons, 8 Ewan Venerus.

Replacements: 16 Jacob Oliver, 17 Isaac Keller, 18 Sam Brikbeck, 19 Ayden Knott, 20 Zach Oldham, 21 Freddie Nickalls, 22 Will Roue, 23 Toby Ferguson.

South Pool

Bristol Bears v Gloucester – 2.30pm, Dings Crusaders

Bristol got off to a sensational start on the weekend with a 27-12 defeat of their great rivals Bath, while Gloucester had a tough opening outing at the hands of London Irish and will be eager to put the lessons from that to the test immediately. Bristol Bears’ bring Clifton College’s Isaac Campbell Wu into the starting side at 13, they are skippered by his schoolmate Aaron Tull at blindside. The only other change is on the left wing, where Tom Ormsby comes in, though Myles Langley and Jake Smith are promoted to the bench after missing out last week. Gloucester, meanwhile, make a number of changes, not least in a re-jigged backline that sees Ty Lewis move from outside centre to right wing and Tom Samak from inside centre to outside centre, with Tom Riman coming in at inside centre and Ioan Jones coming in on the left wing. Up front Sam Anson comes into the second row, with Jack Hall and Fred Ma’a coming into the back row. Tyler Harvey and Max Knight get opportunities from the bench, and George Merritt skippers the side from hooker.

Bristol Bears

15 Sami Hamid, 14 Gabe Lacey, 13 Isaac Campbell Wu, 12 Lucas Berti, 11 Tom Ormsby, 10 Henry Hawkins, 9 Rhys Price, 1 Louis Trevett, 2 James Randall, 3 Billy Moran, 4 Ollie Thraves, 5 Paddy Pearce, 6 Aaron Tull (c), 7 Charlie Cox, 8 Ed Harvey.

Replacements: 16 George Davey, 17 Louis White, 18 Jimmy Halliwell, 19 Myles Langley, 20 Archie Prewett, 21 Pete Carter, 22 Jamie Wood, 23 Jake Smith.

Gloucester

15 Will Gilderson, 14 Ty Lewis, 13 Tom Samak, 12 Tom Riman, 11 Ioan Jones, 10 Keillen Cullen, 9 Joe Adams, 1 Will Hurn, 2 George Merritt (c), 3 Henry Pearson, 4 Sam Anson, 5 Mikey Nixon, 6 Freddie Stevens, 7 Jack Hall, 8 Fred Ma’a.

Replacements: 16 Casey Williams, 17 Tom Cabot, 18 Tyler Harvey, 19 Rhys Ford, 20 Tom Worts, 21 Sam Folks-Underhill, 22 Max Knight, 23 Archie Hossack.

Harlequins v London Irish – 12pm, Cobham RFC

Harlequins make their 2021/22 debut after a bye last week, Exeter Chiefs have the South bye this week, and what a debut it is, a huge South West London derby with London Irish at Cobham RFC. It is a tricky task too, London Irish were magnificent against Gloucester in their 41-17 victory last time out and are hold the title of shared holders along with Leicester Tigers. The London Irish side features plenty of changes from last time out though, Bishop Wand’s Matt Salisbury coming in at full back with Henley College’s Angelo Valentine in on the right wing, while Hampton’s Connor Cross comes in at inside centre, necessitating a move from 12 to 13 for Bishop Wand’s Alex Enright. Up front the excellent Tolii Reeves-Hall of Bishop Wand is in at loosehead, while schoolmate Roman Barton-Knott is in on the blindside and Harrow’s George Hamblin comes in at openside. That means a change of skipper, with Bishop Wand’s Ollie Allan captaining the side from scrum half this week. Meanwhile on the bench Kassim Dawud and Connor O’Byrne get opportunities. Harlequins have a really exciting side, at number 8 is St Joseph’s Festival player of the tournament Jonathan Smith of Brighton College, while among the many others to look out for are Seaford College second row Jonny Green, King’s Canterbury centre Ludo Kolade, and some potential magic from Millfield wing Amir Sultan-Edwards.

Harlequins

15 Ethan Knight (Hampton), 14 Jake Golding (Cranleigh), 13 Ludo Kolade (King’s Canterbury), 12 Ben Waghorn (John Fisher), 11 Amir Sultan-Edwards (Millfield), 10 Jamie Flatley (Whitgift), 9 Charlie Clare (Brighton College), 1 Ethan Clarke (Worthing College), 2 Will Ayton (Wellington College), 3 Caleb Ashworth (Gordon’s), 4 Jonny Green (Seaford College), 5 Harry Browne (Brighton College), 6 Will Peart-Smith (Trinity), 7 Seb Driscoll (Whitgift), 8 Jonathan Smith (Brighton College).

Replacements: 16 Jack Doorey-Palmer (Worthing College), 17 Tosin Teriba (Gordon’s), 18 Jack Wadman (Seaford College), 19 Tom Golder (Gordon’s), 20 Theo Martin (Gordon’s), 21 Murdoch Lock (Wellington College), 22 Sean Kerr (Whitgift), 23 William Sprigett (Wellington College).

London Irish

15 Matt Salisbury (Bishop Wand), 14 Angelo Valentine (Henley College), 13 Alex Enright (Bishop Wand), 12 Connor Cross (Hampton), 11 Sam Rockley (Bishop Wand), 10 Rory Taylor (Wellington College), 9 Ollie Allan (Bishop Wand, captain), 1 Tolii Reeves-Hall (Bishop Wand), 2 Rhys Day (Epsom College), 3 Afolabi Fasogbon (Bishop Wand), 4 Oliver Stirling (Harrow), 5 Finn Worley-Brady (Bishop Wand), 6 Roman Barton-Knott (Bishop Wand), 7 George Hamblin (Harrow), 8 Kade Bird (Epsom College).

Replacements: 16 Oban Baird (Cranleigh), 17 Alfred Akpos (Henley College), 18 Kassim Dawud (Bishop Wand), 19 Connor O’Byrne (Wellington College), 20 Jack Lee (Millfield), 21 Oscar Grantham (Bishop Wand), 22 Theo Williamson (Bishop Wand).

Saracens v Bath – 1.30pm, Harpenden RFC

Saracens had a big trip to Truro to take on Exeter and returned with a strong victory, 46-12, so they are going to be bouncing ahead of their game against Bath, who are surely eager for a fast response after a derby loss to Bristol bears in their opener. Saracens make three changes, all in the forward pack, as Berkhamsted trio James Issacs, Casper Jack, and Luca Fahy are all promoted from the bench at hooker, second row, and openside, all three of whom played in our live stream of Berkhamsted’s Schools Cup quarter final against Trinity. Schoolmate Ollie Webb gets a chance on the bench too, while Simon Langton’s Kennedy Sylvester and Hayes’ Ewan Entwistle are also given opportunities from the bench after missing out last time. Injury has forced Bath’s hand a little in their lineup, with skipper Arthur Green of Sherborne and his vice captain and Millfield star Sam Harris both out. As such, the captaincy is shared between Green’s Sherborne co-captain Will Parry (a star in our live stream of Sherborne v Harrow), at outside centre, and Beechen Cliff second row Will Jeanes. His schoolmate Rory Crum starts at inside centre in Harris’ absence, and fellow Beechen Cliff man Kacey Pike starts at 8 for Green, with Millfield’s George Timmins coming in at blindside, Wells Cathedral’s Tom Hill gets an opportunity at loosehead. On the bench Beechen Cliff’s Jack Haythornwaite and Harvey Matthews get opportunities after missing out last time, so too Downside’s Charlie Boarder.

Saracens

15 Jack Cullen (St Albans), 14 Micaal McFarlane (Skinners’), 13 Tyler Weekes (Sutton Valence), 12 Tobias Elliott (Berkhamsted), 11 Charlie Reynolds-West (Oaklands College), 10 Harry Legg (Simon Langton Grammar), 9 Charlie Bracken (St Albans), 1 Freddie Chapman (Oaklands College), 2 James Issacs (Berkhamsted), 3 Tony Erhawah (St Olave’s Grammar), 4 Casper Jack (Berkhamsted), 5 Max Eke (St George’s, Harpenden), 6 Jacob Ray (Sutton Valence), 7 Luca Fahy (Berkhamsted), 8 Nathan Michelow (Sutton Valence).

Replacements: 16 Alex Witchell (Langley Park), 17 Ollie Webb (Berkhamsted), 18 Charlie Keith (Berkhamsted), 19 Kennedy Sylvester (Simon Langton), 20 Barnaby Merrett (Sutton Valence), 21 Ewan Entwistle (Hayes), 22 Ben Westcott (Berkhamsted), 23 Toby Clinch (Finborough).

Bath

15 Byron Lloyd-Gilmour (Marlborough College), 14 McKenzi Rawlings (Beechen Cliff), 13 Will Parry (Sherborne, co-captain), 12 Rory Crum (Beechen Cliff), 11 Max Ashton (Beechen Cliff), 10 Raff Weston (Beechen Cliff), 9 Ieuan Davies (Millfield), 1 Tom Hill (Wells Cathedral), 2 Max Pearce (Millfield), 3 Billy Sela (Beechen Cliff), 4 Eddie Erskine (Millfield), 5 Will Jeanes (Beechen Cliff, co-captain), 6 George Timmins (Millfield), 7 Archie McKibben (Millfield), 8 Kacey Pike (Beechen Cliff).

Replacements: 16 Tommy McLean (Beechen Cliff), 17 Eric Nixon-Castillo (Millfield), 18 Ellis Baker (Millfield), 19 Jack Haythornwaite (Beechen Cliff), 20 Harvey Matthews (Beechen Cliff), 21 Sam Curwen (Millfield), 22 Harry Carson (Millfield), 23 Charlie Boarder (Downside).

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Round 2 Fixtures:

North

Leicester Tigers v Sale Sharks – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 2pm, Leicester Forest RFC

Northampton Saints v Yorkshire Academy – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 2pm, Bedford Athletic

Wasps v Newcastle Falcons – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 3pm, Broadstreet RFC

Worcester Warriors – Bye

South

Bristol Bears v Gloucester – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 2.30pm, Dings Crusaders

Harlequins v London Irish – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 12pm, Cobham RFC

Saracens v Bath – Thursday 23^rd Dec, 1.30pm, Harpenden RFC

Exeter Chiefs – Bye

Round 1 Results:

North

Northampton Saints 36-22 Leicester Tigers – Friday, Bedford Athletic

Worcester Warriors 13-40 Sale Sharks – Saturday, RGS Worcester

Yorkshire Academy 0-36 Wasps – Saturday, Bishop Burton College

Newcastle Falcons – Bye

South

Bath 12-27 Bristol Bears – Friday, Chippenham RFC

Exeter Chiefs 12-46 Saracens – Saturday, Truro College

London Irish 41-17 Gloucester – Saturday, Hazelwood

Harlequins – Bye

Future Fixtures:

Round 3

North

Newcastle Falcons v Leicester Tigers – Saturday 8^th Jan, 5.15pm, Kingston Park

Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints – Sunday 9^th Jan, 2pm, Heywood Road

Wasps v Worcester Warriors – Saturday 8^th Jan, 2pm, Aylesbury RFC

Yorkshire Academy – Bye

South

Bath v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday 8^th Jan, 1pm, Marlborough College

Gloucester v Harlequins – Saturday 8^th Jan, 12pm, Kingsholm

Saracens v London Irish – Saturday 8^th Jan, 12pm, Harpenden RFC

Bristol Bears – Bye

Round 4

North

Leicester Tigers v Yorkshire Academy – Saturday 15^th Jan, 5pm, Loughborough Uni

Sale Sharks v Newcastle Falcons – Sunday 16^th Jan, 2pm, Heywood Road

Worcester Warriors v Northampton Saints – Sunday 16^th Jan, time TBC, Sixways

Wasps – Bye

South

Bath v London Irish – Saturday 15^th Jan, 12.15pm Chippenham RFC

Bristol Bears v Saracens – Saturday 15^th Jan, 1.30pm, Dings Crusaders

Exeter Chiefs v Harlequins – Saturday 15^th Jan, 12pm, Truro College

Gloucester – Bye

Round 5

North

Newcastle Falcons v Worcester Warriors – Saturday 22^nd Jan, 2pm, Kingston Park

Wasps v Northampton Saints – Saturday 22^nd Jan, 2pm, Aylesbury RFC

Yorkshire Academy v Sale Sharks – Sunday 23^rd Jan, 3pm, Keighly RUFC

Leicester Tigers – Bye

South

Exeter Chiefs v Gloucester – Saturday 22^nd Jan, 2pm, Truro College

Harlequins v Bath – Saturday 22^nd Jan, 2pm, Venue TBC

London Irish v Bristol Bears – Saturday 22^nd Jan, 1pm, Hazelwood

Saracens – Bye

Round 6

North

Newcastle Falcons v Yorkshire Academy – Saturday 5^th Feb, 2pm, Kingston Park

Sale Sharks v Wasps – Sunday 6^th Feb, time TBC, Manchester Met Uni

Worcester Warriors v Leicester Tigers, Saturday 5^th Feb, 2pm, Sixways

Northampton Saints – Bye

South

Harlequins v Bristol Bears – Saturday 5^th Feb, 2pm, Cobham RFC

Gloucester v Saracens – Saturday 5^th Feb, 2pm, Cheltenham Tigers

London Irish v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday 5^th Feb, 1.30pm, Hazelwood

Bath – Bye

Round 7

North

Leicester Tigers v Wasps – Saturday 12^th Feb 5pm, Welford Road

Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons – Saturday 12^th Feb, 2pm, Franklin’s Gardens

Yorkshire Academy v Worcester Warriors – Saturday 12^th Feb, 2pm, Doncaster Knights

Sale Sharks – Bye

South

Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday 12^th Feb, Dings Crusaders

Gloucester v Bath – Saturday 12^th Feb, 2pm, Kingsholm

Saracens v Harlequins – Saturday 12^th Feb, 1pm, StoneX

London Irish – Bye

Finals Day: Saturday/Sunday 19^th/20^th February – Venue TBC (7 games)