Bristol Bears sealed their place alongside their great rivals Bath Rugby in the 2026 Prem Rugby Next Gen final with a thrilling away victory at Northampton Saints on Saturday.
Saturday and Sunday were the final two days of Prem Rugby Next Gen league action and there was still plenty to play for across the board. Now all eleven sides, plus an England Counties U18 side, head to Kingsholm Stadium on Sunday for finals day, where Bath and Bristol will meet in the final, Saracens and Harlequins will play for third, Exeter Chiefs and last year’s champions Northampton Saints for 5th, host side Gloucester and Sale Sharks for 8th, Newcastle Red Bulls and Leicester Tigers for 9th, and Yorkshire Academy will play the England Counties side.
Bath had booked their place in the final a fortnight ago, and had already played their final fixture last week, so they had the luxury over the weekend of watching the drama unfold of who would meet them in the final.
Harlequins, Saracens, and Bristol Bears all had a realistic chance. Quins had also played their final game, but they started the weekend in second place, knowing that if Bristol and Saracens slipped up then they would be in the final.
Bristol Bears were a point clear of Saracens, so they knew that if the sides matched victorious results then they would be in the final, however they had the challenge of an away game against the reigning champions, Northampton Saints, while Saracens were on home turf, where they are undefeated.
As it turned out, both sides did all that they could. Saracens were magnificent en route to a thrilling 53-29 victory over Newcastle Red Bulls, keeping that unbeaten home record intact and earning a bonus point victory. However Bristol Bears matched it with a breathtaking 47-24 victory at Northampton Saints, Bristol have been unstoppable since the league restarted after Christmas, and it was a performance that deserved a place in the final.
It’s a third in a row for Bath, who were champions in 2024, while Bristol Bears have also been crowned relatively recently, in 2022. A derby game in the final, reasonably close to both sides, it should be a cracker.
For Saracens it’s a third place play-off, and a derby game there as they face Harlequins, who finished up in fourth when the weekend’s play finished. Reigning champs Northampton Saints meanwhile finished in 6th and will face Exeter Chiefs, who, like Quins and Bath, sat this round out. They will play for 5th place overall after Exeter finished there in the table.
Saturday’s other game was an absolute thriller at the finals day venue, Kingsholm, as Gloucester hosted Leicester Tigers. Both have struggled for form of late but put in a display that will be remembered for some time as Gloucester won 45-31. It sent Gloucester rocketing up to 7th in the table, just a point behind Saints, while Tigers, despite the try-scoring bonus, were left in 10th place in the league standings.
The table was finalised on Sunday in one of the best games of the campaign as Sale Sharks hosted Yorkshire Academy at Chester RUFC. Yorkshire picked up their first victory of the campaign against Newcastle last time out, while Sale were itching to get back to winning ways after a tough game against Harlequins last time out. The two sides gave it everything in a stunning contest. They could hardly be separated, but in the end it was back to back victories for the Yorkshire side, who just edged it 38-35. The two bonus points in defeat kept Sale Sharks in 8th though, meaning that they will face Gloucester in the 7th place game on Sunday, while a second victory for Yorkshire was not quite enough to lift them from the foot of the table, they will face England Counties, while Newcastle Red Bulls and Leicester Tigers will meet to play for 9th.
Prem Rugby Next Gen Round 9 Results:
Gloucester 45-31 Leicester Tigers
Northampton Saints 24-47 Bristol Bears
Saracens 53-29 Newcastle Red Bulls
Sale Sharks 35-38 Yorkshire Academy
Standings:
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | BPs | Points |
| 1 | Bath | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 38 |
| 2 | Bristol Bears | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 31 |
| 3 | Saracens | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 30 |
| 4 | Harlequins | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 29 |
| 5 | Exeter Chiefs | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 24 |
| 6 | Northampton Saints | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 19 |
| 7 | Gloucester | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| 8 | Sale Sharks | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 17 |
| 9 | Newcastle Red Bulls | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 16 |
| 10 | Leicester Tigers | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 14 |
| 11 | Yorkshire Academy | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 11 |
Finals Day: Sunday 22nd February, Kingsholm Stadium – LIVE on Prem Rugby by NextGenLive
(KO Times TBC)
Final: Bath Rugby v Bristol Bears
3rd Place: Saracens v Harlequins
5th Place: Exeter Chiefs v Northampton Saints
7th Place: Gloucester v Sale Sharks
9th Place: Newcastle Red Bulls v Leicester Tigers
11th Place: Yorkshire Academy v England Counties U18 XV
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: N/A
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 6th form College).
Replacements: 16 Sonny Hooper (Barnard Castle), 17 Mason Proudlock (Gosforth Academy), 18 Joe Browell (Hartlepool 6th 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
