The penultimate round of the 2022 Premiership Rugby U18 Academy League took place this weekend and thew up some huge results to head into the final round with.
Both the North and South Pool had some huge storylines, in the South a massive clash between unbeaten Harlequins and Bristol Bears, a game that would see the winners have almost a foot in the final – which will be contested between the winners of each pool.
Over in the North Pool a defeat for the table toppers has set up a massive winner takes all clash in the weekend’s final round. It is truly all to play for.
Tables
North Pool
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Sale Sharks | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | Newcastle Falcons | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 17 |
| 3 | Northampton Saints | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 17 |
| 4 | Wasps | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | Leicester Tigers | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 15 |
| 6 | Worcester Warriors | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 12 |
| 7 | Yorkshire Academy | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
South Pool
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Bristol Bears | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 23 |
| 2 | Saracens | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 21 |
| 3 | Harlequins | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 19 |
| 4 | London Irish | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 13 |
| 5 | Bath | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 |
| 6 | Exeter Chiefs | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 | Gloucester | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
Images thanks to NickBImages (@nickbimages)
Round 6 Results
North (Northampton Saints Bye Week)
Newcastle Falcons 24-14 Yorkshire Academy
Sale Sharks 12-22 Wasps
Worcester Warriors 28-35 Leicester Tigers
South (Bath Bye Week)
Harlequins 7-20 Bristol Bears
Gloucester 22-47 Saracens
London Irish 50-21 Exeter Chiefs
North Pool
Sale Sharks’ defeat to Wasps on Sunday has set up an epic clash this Saturday coming when Northampton Saints host Newcastle Falcons at Franklin’s Gardens at 2pm. Sale’s defeat was their final game of the campaign as it is they that have the bye next week, that means that whoever wins that game on Saturday will overhaul them and win the North Pool, and with it a place in the final. Indeed Wasps or Leicester Tigers could also overhaul Sale Sharks if they earn maximum points when they meet in their final game of the league stage this weekend coming.
Northampton had a bye week this week, but Newcastle Falcons put themselves in position thanks to a third win on the bounce as they defeated Yorkshire Academy, who will head into next week’s game against Worcester Warriors hoping to finish the campaign off with a first victory.
Worcester themselves were arguably involved in the game of the day on Saturday when they hosted Leicester Tigers. They arrived level on points, and shared 63 points on Saturday, but it was Tigers that collected the most in a 38-25 victory that sees them close right up to within four points of the top of the table.
South Pool
The big talking point in the South Pool was always going to be that Harlequins v Bristol Bears clash, the two unbeaten sides going head to head. In the end it was a magnificent performance from Bristol Bears as they sealed a 20-7 victory, leaving them with one foot in the final. On Saturday they face an Exeter Chiefs side with one victory to their name, and who had a tough outing against London Irish over the weekend, London Irish living up to the promise they have shown through the campaign.
Should Bristol lose that one though, Harlequins’ trip to Saracens on Sunday becomes all important. In Round 6 Saracens had a brilliant 47-22 victory over Gloucester and it leaves them two points clear of Harlequins and just two shy of Bristol Bears. So should Bristol lose to Exeter, that game between the two London rivals is going to be crucial – and it is now Saracens who are in prime position to prise the top spot should that happen, Quins would need Bristol to earn no matchday points and then to claim a maximum against Saracens, while the equation is much simpler for Saracens, if Bristol lose and they win, they reach the final.
Team Sheets:
Newcastle Falcons
15 Ben Redshaw, 14 Nathan Greenwood, 13 Jez Civil, 12 Will Hindle, 11 Jake Metcalfe, 10 Harry Williams, 9 Ben Douglas, 1 Micky Rewcastle, 2 Charlie Smith, 3 Morgan Hall, 4 Luke Coulston (c), 5 Ayden Knott, 6 Braemar Murray, 7 Ewan Venerus, 8 Zach Oldham.
Replacements: 16 Ben Wright, 17 Isaac Keller, 18 Sam Birkbeck, 19 Finn Baker, 20 Will Gibbons, 21 Freddie Nickals, 22 Will Roue, 23 Nicolas Bozzo.
Yorkshire Academy
15 B Turpin, 14 G Worthington, 13 B Horberry, 12 J Howells, 11 N McCormack, 10 B Irvine, 9 J Harris (c), 1 A Medway, 2 L Inman, 3 P Parker, 4 T Burrow, 5 T Peach, 6 J Billington, 7 J Freeman, 8 H Willard.
Replacements: 16 J Briggs, 17 H Derbyshire, 18 T Raymont, 19 G Heptinstall, 20 E Smith, 21 B Parkin, 22 O Aston, 23 F Yates.
Sale Sharks
15 Leo Zheng, 14 Ben Verbickas, 13 Al Whitfield, 12 Ben Motamed, 11 Owain Williams, 10 Charlie Wardle, 9 Will Wootton, 1 George Arnold, 2 Charlie Bancroft, 3 Patreece Bell, 4 Oscar Walsh, 5 Ellis Causey, 6 Yande Nkonge, 7 Tristan Woodman, 8 Huw Davies (c).
Replacements: 16 Rorio Zheng, 17 Jack Ellam, 18 Theo Bishop, 19 Will Riley, 20 Tom Campbell, 21 Niall Povall, 22 Finn Rogers, 23 Henry Harper.
Wasps
15 B Kucera, 14 E Rokodrava, 13 W Evans, 12 J Annand, 11 W Glister, 10 C Mason, 9 M Winterburn, 1 A O’Driscoll, 2 H Silman, 3 A Opoku-Fordjour, 4 C Bell, 5 B McDermott, 6 R Logan, 7 Z Newcombe, 8 B Pogson.
Replacements: 16 O Blunsom-Washbrook, 17 C Aitchison, 18 R Marsh, 19 L McGowan, 20 T Clifford, 21 L Casilio, 22 S Sinclair, 23 D Barnett.
Worcester Warriors
15 Dan Chambers (Stourport High), 14 Oli Smith (Hartpury College), 13 Will Pugh (Stourport High), 12 Archie Jones (Stourport High), 11 Alex Wills (Hartpury College), 10 Jack Condliffe (Stourport High), 9 Alex Terry (King’s Worcester), 1 Lewys Walsh (Hartpury College), 2 Ethan Allen (Stourport High), 3 Aaron Hackett (Stourport High), 4 Will Chater (King’s Worcester), 5 Harvey Cuckson (Ellesmere College), 6 Will Owen (Ellesmere College), 7 Owen Boxall (Bishop Vesey’s Grammar), 8 Theo Mayell (Monmouth, captain).
Replacements: 16 Loic Keasey (RGS Worcester), 17 Ellis Locke (Stourport High), 18 Finn Haynes (Stourport High), 19 George Boyle (King’s Worcester), 20 Sam Hawes (King’s Worcester), 21 Woody Facey (Hartpury College), 22 Billy McDonough (Bromsgrove), 23 Matt Smith (Stourport High), 24 Jacob Clarke (Bishop Vesey’s Grammar).
Leicester Tigers
15 Joe Dickson, 14 Alexander Garrett, 13 George Loose, 12 Joseph Woodward (c), 11 Samuel Jacques, 10 Morgan Meredith, 9 Matt Durbridge, 1 Jack Hurst, 2 Max Nolan, 3 Nathan Hind, 4 Callum Richardson, 5 Finn Carnduff, 6 Chester Owen, 7 Joshua Manz, 8 Simon Koroiyadi.
Replacements: 16 Tom Wand, 17 Charlie Barraclough, 18 Ross Foxley, 19 Dan Ormerod, 20 Oliver Arnold, 21 Fergus Makepeace, 22 Oscar van Deventer, 23 Max Fairlie.
Harlequins
15 Conor Byrne (Trinity), 14 Ethan Knight (Hampton), 13 Ben Waghorn (John Fisher), 12 Ludo Kolade (King’s Canterbury), 11 Jake Golding (Cranleigh), 10 Sean Kerr (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 Jonathan Smith (Brighton College), 7 Seb Driscoll (Harlequins), 8 Zach Carr (Dulwich College).
Replacements: 16 Jack Doorey-Palmer (Worthing College), 17 Claudius Wheeler (St Paul’s), 18 Jack Wadman (Seaford College), 19 Tom Golder (Gordon’s), 20 Murdoch Lock (Wellington College), 21 Jack Thomas (Churcher’s College), 22 Josh Bellamy (Trinity).
Bristol Bears
15 Sami Hamid, 14 Gabe Lacey, 13 Isaac Campbell Wu, 12 Lucas Berti, 11 Tom Ormsby, 10 Sam Worsley, 9 Pete Carter, 1 Louis Trevett, 2 James Randall, 3 Jimmy Halliwell, 4 Ollie Thraves, 5 Paddy Pearce, 6 Aaron Tull (c), 7 Charlie Cox, 8 Ed Harvey.
Replacements: 16 George Davey, 17 Billy Marsden, 18 Billy Moran, 19 Pete Paramore, 20 Tom Gardner, 21 Rhys Price, 22 Henry Hawkins, 23 Jake Smith.
Gloucester
15 Will Gilderson (Cheltenham College), 14 Ben Peters (Dean Close), 13 Ioan Jones (Dean Close), 12 Tom Riman (Cheltenham College), 11 Ty Lewis (Hartpury College), 10 Keillen Cullen (Hartpury College), 9 Joe Adams (Hartpury College), 1 Tyler Harvey (Park House), 2 George Merritt (Dean Close, captain), 3 Henry Pearson (Hartpury College), 4 Rhys Ford (Hartpury College), 5 Mikey Nixon (Sir Thomas Rich’s), 6 Sam Anson (Cleeve), 7 Jack Hall (John Kyrle), 8 Sam Vince (Hartpury College).
Replacements: 16 Sam Loftus (Sir Thomas Rich’s), 17 Will Hurn (Sir Thomas Rich’s), 18 Bez Williams (Hartpury College), 19 Fin Jones (Hartpury College), 20 Heath Gwilliam (Cheltenham College), 21 Bailey Paetel (Hartpury College), 22 Max Knight (Hartpury College), 23 Nathan Thomson-Lee (Hartpury College).
Saracens
15 Harry Legg (Simon Langton), 14 Micaal McFarlane (Skinners’), 13 Tyler Weeks (Sutton Valence), 12 Jenson McInulty (Sutton Valence), 11 Charlie Reynolds-West (Oaklands College), 10 Louie Sinclair (Finborough), 9 Charlie Bracken (St Albans), 1 Ikhi Osebor (Haileybury), 2 James Isaacs (Berkhamsted), 3 Charlie Keith (Berkhamsted), 4 Olamide Sodeke (Gravesend Grammar), 5 Max Eke (St George’s, Harpenden), 6 Barnaby Merrett (Sutton Valence), 7 Luca Fahy (Berkhamsted), 8 Nathan Michelow (Sutton Valence).
Replacements: 16 Henry Walker (Hartpury College), 17 Freddie Chapman (Oaklands College), 18 Max Wheeler (Bethany), 19 James Boylan (Berkhamsted), 20 Ollie Webb (Berkhamsted) 21 Ben Mills (Brentwood), 22 Tom Barton (Sutton Valence), 23 Jack Cullen (St Albans).
London Irish
15 Matt Salisbury (Bishop Wand), 14 Sam Rockley (Bishop Wand), 13 George Cubitt Makepeace (Henley College), 12 Connor Cross (Hampton), 11 Solomon Arbuthnot-Whittaker (Wellington College), 10 Rory Taylor (Wellington College), 9 Ollie Allan (Bishop Wand), 1 Tolii Reeves-Hall (Bishop Wand), 2 Rhys Day (Epsom College), 3 Afolabi Fasogbon (Bishop Wand), 4 Connor O’Byrne (Wellington College), 5 Jarlath Gleeson (City of London Freemen’s), 6 Will Dempster (Claire’s Court), 7 Louie Kirkham (Bishop Wand, captain), 8 Oliver Stirling (Harrow).
Replacements: 16 Oban Baird (Cranleigh), 17 Kassim Dawud (Bishop Wand), 18 Jack Lee (Millfield), 19 George Hamblin (Harrow), 20 Oscar Grantham (Bishop Wand), 21 Alex Enright (Bishop Wand), 22 Angelo Valentine (Henley College), 23 Ben Frampton (Wellington College).
Exeter Chiefs
15 Jayden Pitcher Oakes, 14 Jack Statton, 13 Zack Wimbush, 12 George Edson, 11 Dan Hamilton-Strong, 10 Nat Dart, 9 Joe Walker, 1 Joe Thomson, 2 Pete Harris, 3 Archie Rolls, 4 Ed Spurway, 5 Joe Bailey (c), 6 Will Saltmarsh, 7 Seth Findlay, 8 Barnaby Elderkin.
Replacements: 16 Jack Ballett, 17 Rowan Lawrence, 18 Tom Gulley, 19 Jago Sheppard, 20 Ben Hobbs, 21 Morgan Stone, 22 Matt Smale, 23 Reuben Brinkley.
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Future Fixtures:
Round 7
North
Leicester Tigers v Wasps – Saturday 12th Feb 5pm, Welford Road
Northampton Saints v Newcastle Falcons – Saturday 12th Feb, 2pm, Franklin’s Gardens
Yorkshire Academy v Worcester Warriors – Saturday 12th Feb, 2pm, Doncaster Knights
Sale Sharks – Bye
South
Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs – Saturday 12th Feb, 1pm, Dings Crusaders
Gloucester v Bath – Saturday 12th Feb, 2pm, Kingsholm
Saracens v Harlequins – Sunday 13th Feb, 1pm, StoneX
London Irish – Bye
Finals Day: Saturday/Sunday 19th/20th February – Venue TBC (7 games)
Round 5 Results
North
Newcastle Falcons 31-10 Worcester Warriors
Wasps 32-45 Northampton Saints
Yorkshire Academy 16-17 Sale Sharks
Leicester Tigers – Bye
South
Exeter Chiefs 17-14 Gloucester
Harlequins 31-21 Bath
London Irish 14-27 Bristol Bears
Saracens – Bye
Round 4 Results:
North
Leicester Tigers 37-14 Yorkshire Academy
Sale Sharks 12-26 Newcastle Falcons
Worcester Warriors 27-24 Northampton Saints
Wasps – Bye
South
Bath 19-14 London Irish
Bristol Bears 36-31 Saracens
Exeter Chiefs 24-29 Harlequins
Gloucester – Bye
Round 3 Results:
North
Newcastle Falcons 24-27 Leicester Tigers
Sale Sharks 45-19 Northampton Saints
Wasps 14-24 Worcester Warriors
Yorkshire Academy – Bye
South
Bath 26-12 Exeter Chiefs
Gloucester 12-47 Harlequins
Saracens 17-14 London Irish
Bristol Bears – Bye
Round 2 Results:
North
Leicester Tigers 15-33 Sale Sharks
Northampton Saints 36-19 Yorkshire Academy
Wasps 20-14 Newcastle Falcons
Worcester Warriors – Bye
South
Bristol Bears 25-3 Gloucester
Harlequins 21-17 London Irish
Saracens 39-12 Bath
Exeter Chiefs – Bye
Round 1 Results:
North
Northampton Saints 36-22 Leicester Tigers
Worcester Warriors 13-40 Sale Sharks
Yorkshire Academy 0-36 Wasps
Newcastle Falcons – Bye
South
Bath 12-27 Bristol Bears
Exeter Chiefs 12-46 Saracens
London Irish 41-17 Gloucester
Harlequins – Bye
