Prem Rugby Next Gen: Round 9 Preview | Final Round, 3 vie to join Bath in the Final

The final round of league action in the Prem Rugby Next Gen League takes place this weekend, with a place in the final still up for grabs.

All eleven sides will head to Kingsholm Stadium on Sunday 22^nd February for Finals Day, (Live on Prem Rugby YouTube by NextGenLive) along with an England Counties side, but each wants to achieve as high a finals day fixture as possible – with the top two in the league meeting in the final, third and fourth in a 3^rd place play off, 5^th and 6^th in a 5^th place play off, and so on.

Bath Rugby have already sealed their place in the final and are guaranteed top spot. They have completed all of their fixtures, as have second placed Harlequins, who are three points clear of Bristol Bears and four clear of Saracens, who both play this weekend – all three, then, could face Bath in that final. The other side to have completed their fixtures are Exeter Chiefs, they sit in fifth place, where they are guaranteed to finish, but who they will play on finals day remains very much open.

With those three having played all of their games, it is a truncated Round 9, with just four games instead of the usual five. Three taking place on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Bristol Bears are the side best placed to overhaul Harlequins, they are just three points behind so a win of any sort would put them ahead of Quins and a bonus point win would guarantee second place. However they have a mighty challenge, travelling to Shelford RFC for a 12.30pm kick off against the reigning champions, Northampton Saints, who will be frustrated by recent results and determined to seal 6^th place and a chance to play off for a high 5^th place finish. Unsurprisingly, given their form, Bristol Bears keep the changes to a minimum. Taunton School’s Monty Wells again leads the side from the second row and is part of an unchanged pack from the side that beat Saracens last week. In the backline there is just the one change but a bit of rejigging, SGS College’s Malachy Parsons is promoted from the bench to start at outside centre, a move that shift Clifton College’s Will Moore to 12 and Parson’s SGS teammate Bruno Lamb to 10, meanwhile Collegiate’s Harry Randall and UCS College’s George Williams switch wings. On the bench SGS College’s Ned Hill gets his opportunity, alongside Richard Huish’s Jayjay Hancock and Wellington School’s Olly Bonds. After a good display in defeat to Bath last week, Northampton Saints make just the one change to the starting side, which is again led by Bloxham outside centre Sonny Goode. The change sees Kai Manson of Moulton College promoted to the bench to start at fly half in place of the injured Fin Shields. On the bench there is a return for Shields’ Northampton School for Boys’ teammate George Tonga’uhia, with Stowe’s Connor Wright also recalled to the bench.

Saracens, meanwhile, are a point further behind Bristol Bears. They are in fourth, four points behind Quins. The big advantage for them is that it’s a home game at StoneX, and 11.30 kick off against Newcastle Red Bulls, where they have been so consistent this season – they are undefeated at home. Newcastle Red Bulls are going to be throwing everything at it though, they have been excellent at times this year and a top half finish is a real possibility, and would be deserved for their efforts. Newcastle Red Bulls have a new skipper in Gosforth Academy centre Matty Dunn, who missed out last week. He’s joined by another returning back in Barnard Castle scrum half Josh Dickson, who is promoted from the bench. Up front it is all change in the front row, with Gosforth Academy’s Josh Doran, Dame Allan’s Will Graham, and Bede Academy’s Myles Adler all back in the starting lineup. There is a positional shift for Jono Broadbent of Gosforth Academy, who moves from 8 to the second row, likewise Sedbergh’s Jack Nesbitt, who moves from hooker to flanker, while Hartlepool 6^th form College’s Charlie Evans comes in at 8. On the bench Hartlepool 6^th form College’s Joe Browell returns, likewise Toby Somersall of Newcastle School for Boys and Gosforth Academy’s Sam Owens, his schoolmate Malakai Elsy-Sith will make his debut from the bench.

Saturday’s other game sees 9^th placed Gloucester host 10^th placed Leicester Tigers at Hartpury College, 11am KO. For the defeated side a 9^th place play off awaits on finals day, but the victorious side could finish as high as 6^th and a 5^th place play off if results elsewhere go their way. It’s a huge game, then, for both, who will be eager to return to their best after a few tough weeks. Gloucester make a few changes to the side that lost out to Saracens a fortnight ago. Hartpury College’s Tomos Evans again captains the side from outside centre but he has a new centre partner in St Edward’s Oxford’s Mukeah Turay. There are two fresh faces in the back three as well, with Will Hodgson of City of Oxford College promoted from the bench, like Turay, to start at fullback, while Hartpury College’s Luca Stickings returns to start on the right wing. Up front, Cheltenham College’s Will Geary is promoted from the bench to start at tighthead, while RGS Worcester’s Monty Jones comes in at 8. On the bench Hartpury College’s Walker Baugh, Ellis Stonelake, and Rhys Evans all come in, alongside the returning Tommy Whorrod of Warwick and Will Guess of Dean Close. Leicester Tigers have made a few changes to their starting side, City of Oxford College’s Ollie Myall and Oakham’s Henry Johnson continue to captain the side from outside centre and number 8 respectively, but around them are some changes. Myall has a new centre partner, Johnson’s Oakham teammate Will Loveday, while on the left wing there is a return for Hartpury College flyer Christian Gordon-Astbury. Up front another Oakham man comes in, Otto Stone is promoted from the bench to the second row, likewise Denstone College’s Joe Woods, who starts at tigthhead. On the bench there is a welcome return for Loughborough College loosehead Seva Batikora, Norwich’s Ethan Rix also returns alongside Stamford’s Harrison Brooks and City of Oxford College’s Charlie Lloyd.

The weekend’s action concludes on Sunday at Sale FC when Sale Sharks host Yorkshire Academy in a 3pm kick off. Sale had a tough outing against Quins last week but showed real resolve at times and are perhaps best placed for a 6^th place finish given the challenging fixtures that those above them face. Yorkshire meanwhile picked up their first victory of the campaign last week and will be eager to go back to back and finish up the league campaign in style. Sale Sharks make a few changes, among them Macclesfield Campus full back Austin Keogh taking over the captaincy in the absence of Kirkham and England number 8 Charlie Bray. That sees Bray’s Kirkham Grammar teammate promoted from the bench to start at 8, while another schoolmate, Lawrence Ogbonnaya, is fit again to start at tighthead and claim the vice-captaincy. Elsewhere, Castell Alun’s Ben Probert comes in to start ain the second row. The only change in the backs is a promotion from the bench for Kirkham Grammar’s Alex Wood, who starts on the left wing, a move that sees Ellesmere College’s Charlie Fletcher swith to the right. On the bench Lymm High School’s Alisdair Broadbent comes in alongside St Ambrose College’s Lorenz D’Acanzo, Stonyhurst’s Tom Gaffey, and George Kirkham. Yorkshire keep things pretty consistent after last week’s victory over Newcastle Red Bulls. The only change in the backline sees Hymers College’s Keiji Ashaolu and Bishop Burton’s College’s Matous Borkecky switch positions, with Borecky now on the right wing and Ashaolu at full back. Up front Grammar School at Leeds’ Tom Croston moves from the back row to the front row, with a fresh flanker pairing of QEGS Wakefield’s Joe McCann and St Peter’s York’s Will Barber both promoted from the bench. Barnard Castle’s Alex Fusco continues to captain the side from 8. On the bench St Peter’s York’s Silas Mulase gets an opportunity, likewise Woodhouse Grove’s Oscar Wood and Pocklington’s Theo Roberts.

Prem Rugby Next Gen Round 9 Fixtures:

Saturday 14^th February

Gloucester v Leicester Tigers – 11am, 4Ed Hartpury Stadium with Vodafone

Northampton Saints v Bristol Bears – 12.30pm, Shelford RFC

Saracens v Newcastle Red Bulls – 11.30am, StoneX

Sunday 15^th February

Sale Sharks v Yorkshire Academy – 3pm, Sale FC

Standings: 

Finals Day: Sunday 22^nd February, Kingsholm Stadium – LIVE on Prem Rugby by NextGenLive

Round 9 Team News:

Gloucester:

15 Will Hodgson (City of Oxford College), 14 Luca Stickings (Hartpury College), 13 Tomos Evans (Hartpury College, captain), 12 Mukeah Turay (St Edward’s, Oxford), 11 Kai Wilkinson (St Edward’s, Oxford), 10 Oli Hewitt (Bromsgrove), 9 Theo Rogers (Hartpury College), 1 Sam Bryant (Hartpury College), 2 Teddy Smith-Milne (Clifton College), 3 Will Geary (Cheltenham College), 4 Jack Bennett (Cheltenham College), 5 Ed Bowyer (The Piggot), 6 Rakhat Clarkson (Hartpury College), 7 Felix Baker (Hartpury College), 8 Monty Jones (RGS Worcester).

Replacements: 16 Rowan Fortey (Hartpury College), 17 Walker Baugh (Hartpury College), 18 Will Guess (Dean Close), 19 Josh de Waal (St Edward’s, Oxford), 20 Ellis Stonelake (Hartpury College), 21 Rhys Evans (Hartpury College), 22 Tommy Whorrod (Warwick), 23 Giovanni Nostro (Hartpury College).

Leicester Tigers:

15 Nathaniel Robinson (Bromsgrove), 14 Will Payton (Warwick), 13 Will Loveday (Oakham), 12 Ollie Myall (City of Oxford College, co-captain), 11 Christian Gordon-Astbury (Hartpury College), 10 Oscar Talbot (Rugby School), 9 James Townsend (Warwick), 1 Bailey Saunders (Loughborough College), 2 Oliver Blinkhorn (Loughborough College), 3 Joe Woods (Denstone College), 4 Fin Charles (Denstone College), 5 Otto Stone (Oakham), 6 Dylan Chessum (Loughborough College), 7 Josh Poyser (Loughborough College), 8 Henry Johnson (Oakham, co-captain).

Replacements: 16 Oliver Robinson (Loughborough College), 17 Seva Batikora (Loughborough College), 18 Joe Edmunds (Denstone College), 19 Ethan Rix (Norwich), 20 Charlie Lloyd (City of Oxford College), 21 Jack Coles-Mapleston (Loughborough College), 22 Harrison Brooks (Stamford), 23 Freddie Lomas (Millfield).

Northampton Saints:

15 Hardy Linnell (Bloxham), 14 Elijah Jeyes (Wellington College), 13 Sonny Goode (Bloxham, captain), 12 Callum Tarry (Northampton School for Boys), 11 Charlie Tamani (Finborough), 10 Kai Manson (Moulton College), 9 Caelin Chin (Northampton School for Boys), 1 Lucas Veevers (Moulton College), 2 Kingsley Gallimore (City of Oxford College), 3 Aiden Reid (Northampton School for Boys), 4 Rafferty Hewitt (Bedford), 5 Archie McHarg (Moulton College), 6 Seb Dare (Stowe), 7 Reuben Williams (Northampton School for Boys), 8 Will Hepher (Northampton School for Boys).

Replacements: 16 Charlie Utting (Moulton College), 17 Ben Jones ((Northampton School for Boys), 18 George Tonga’uiha (Northampton School for Boys), 19 Connor Wright (Stowe), 21 Harry Nath (Oundle), 22 Ashton Cox (Northampton School for Boys), 23 Will Howes (Moulton College).

Bristol Bears:

15 Caspar Reeves (Taunton School), 14 George Williams (UCS College), 13 Malachy Parsons (SGS College), 12 Will Moore (Clifton College), 11 Harry Randall (Collegiate), 10 Bruno Lamb (SGS College), 9 Monty Jones (King’s Gloucester), 1 Kaiden Corbett (SGS College), 2 Casper Wheeler (Hartpury College), 3 Evan Davies (Clifton College), 4 Will Papp (SGS College), 5 Monty Wells (Taunton School, captain), 6 Jake Smith (Clifton College), 7 Austin Parsons (SGS College), 8 Noah Williams (Clifton College).

Replacements: 16 Theo Prole (Clifton College), 17 Michael Whittaker (Collegiate), 18 Joe Chambers (Clifton College), 19 Ned Hill (SGS College), 20 Jayjay Hancock (Richard Huish College), 21 Evan Russell (SGS College), 22 Olly Bonds (Wellington School), 23 Jack Taylor (Hartpury College).

Saracens:

Newcastle Red Bulls:

15 Ajay Edwards (Durham), 14 Louis Myers-Lewis (Durham), 13 Ollie Ashton (Sedbergh), 12 Matty Dunn (Gosforth Academy, captain), 11 Jonny Douglas (Gosforth Academy), 10 Ted Fletcher (Newcastle School for Boys), 9 Josh Dickson (Barnard Castle), 1 Josh Doran (Gosforth Academy), 2 Will Graham (Dame Allan’s), 3 Myles Adler (Bede Academy), 4 Jono Broadbent (Gosforth Academy), 5 Dom Henderson (Gosforth Academy), 6 Jack Nesbitt (Sedbergh), 7 Sam Parks (Gosforth Academy), 8 Charlie Evans (Hartlepool 6^th form College).

Replacements: 16 Sonny Hooper (Barnard Castle), 17 Mason Proudlock (Gosforth Academy), 18 Joe Browell (Hartlepool 6^th form College), 19 Freddie Turnbull (Sedbergh), 20 Malakai Elsy-Smith (Gosforth Academy), 21 Toby Somersall (Newcastle School for Boys), 22 Ollie Green (Gosforth Academy), 23 Sam Owens (Gosforth Academy).

Sale Sharks:

15 Austin Keogh (Macclesfield, captain), 14 Charlie Fletcher (Ellesmere College), 13 Ed Millachip (Kirkham GS), 12 Adam Jacques (Sedbergh), 11 Alex Wood (Kirkham GS), 10 Tom Jacques (Sedbergh), 9 Will Bayston (Sedbergh), 1 Hendro Hattingh (Scarisbrick Hall), 2 Morgan Simmonds (Bishop Heber), 3 Lawrence Ogbonnaya (Kirkham GS, vc), 4 Ben Probert (Castell Alun HS), 5 James Moore (Sedbergh), 6 Victor Joulie (Ellesmere College), 7 Ethan Banks (AKS Lytham), 8 Henry Bates (Kirkham GS).

Replacements: 16 Alisdair Broadbent (Lymm HS), 17 Olly McCall (Sedbergh), 18 Fergus Hayles (Kirkham GS), 19 Lorenz D’Avanzo (St Ambrose College), 20 George Kirkham, 21 Tom Gaffey (Stonyhurst), 22 Arthur Scrase (Kirkham GS), 23 Vojtech Nevicky (ex Mount St Mary’s).

Yorkshire Academy:

15 Keiji Ashaolu (Hymers College), 14 Matous Borecky (Bishop Burton College), 13 Connor Dale (Bishop Burton College), 12 Ben Stephens (Prince Henry’s GS), 11 Lewis Jalal (Harrogate GS), 10 Caylen Umaga (Bishop Burton College, vc), 9 Seb Jeffers (Worksop College), 1 Sam Smith (Wath Academy), 2 Sam Johnson (Woodhouse Grove), 3 Ben Smith (Wath Academy), 4 Isaac Assame (Temple Moor), 5 Tom Croston (GSAL), 6 Joe McCann (QEGS Wakefield), 7 Will Barber (St Peter’s, York), 8 Alex Fusco (Barnard Castle, captain).

Replacements: 17 Zach Oxley (St Peter’s, York), 18 Hamilton Howes (Bishop Burton College), 19 George Cameron (Sedbergh), 20 Silas Mulase (St Peter’s, York), 21 Oscar Wood (Woodhouse Grove), 22 Jacob Holmes (Bradford GS), 23 Theo Roberts (Pocklington).

Prem Rugby Next Gen Results:

Round 8:

Bristol Bears 36-24 Saracens

Leicester Tigers 15-33 Exeter Chiefs

Northampton Saints 24-33 Bath

Yorkshire Academy 33-12 Newcastle Red Bulls

Sale Sharks 19-49 Harlequins

Round 7:

Bath 40-22 Leicester Tigers

Bristol Bears 47-12 Newcastle Red Bulls

Exeter Chiefs 43-21 Yorkshire Academy

Harlequins 64-26 Northampton Saints

Saracens 40-17 Gloucester

Round 6:

Gloucester 24-29 Sale Sharks

Harlequins 24-14 Exeter Chiefs

Newcastle Red Bulls 7-26 Bath
Saracens 69-12 Leicester Tigers

Yorkshire Academy 14-48 Bristol Bears

Round 5:

Exeter Chiefs 32-35 Bath

Gloucester 17-35 Bristol Bears

Harlequins 67-17 Yorkshire Academy

Newcastle Red Bulls 38-24 Northampton Saints

Sale Sharks 33-36 Saracens

Round 4:

Bath 50-31 Gloucester

Bristol Bears 55-20 Exeter Chiefs

Leicester Tigers 0-33 Northampton Saints

Harlequins 15-14 Saracens

Sale Sharks 31-17 Newcastle Red Bulls

Round 3:

Bath 31-5 Bristol Bears

Exeter Chiefs 27-14 Gloucester

Leicester Tigers 31-10 Yorkshire Academy

Northampton Saints 67-40 Sale Sharks

Newcastle Red Bulls 26-19 Harlequins

Round 2:

Bath 38-19 Harlequins

Exeter Chiefs 62-7 Sale Sharks

Gloucester 33-7 Northampton Saints

Newcastle Red Bulls 29-22 Leicester Tigers

Yorkshire Academy 12-52 Saracens

Round 1:

Bristol Bears 33-66 Harlequins

Leicester Tigers 38-31 Sale Sharks

Northampton Saints 64-51 Exeter Chiefs

Saracens 45-45 Bath

Yorkshire Academy 26-40 Gloucester

Past Champions: 

2025 Northampton Saints

2024 Bath Rugby

2023 London Irish

2022 Bristol Bears

2021 N/A

2020 Leicester Tigers/London Irish

2019 Leicester Tigers

2018 Leicester Tigers

2017 Harlequins

2016 London Irish

2015 Saracens

2014 Northampton Saints

2013 Northampton Saints