Northampton Saints’ Under-18 side were defeated in their second round fixture of PREM Next Gen by Gloucester Academy.
It was a frustrating opening half for Northampton; despite having the majority of possession, things were not clicking in the attacking third to finish off their opportunities, and the hosts scored twice against the run of play to take a 14-0 lead into the interval.
The young Saints scored one try in the second half, courtesy of returning England Under-18 international Sonny Goode, but it was not enough to overturn the deficit as Gloucester pulled further ahead to secure a 33-7 victory.
Defeat in Round 2 of @premrugby Next Gen pic.twitter.com/M6XVdIjjKg
— Saints Rugby Academy (@SaintsRugbyAcad) August 21, 2025
Reflecting on the result, Head Coach Charlie Reed said: “We can be pleased that we tried to do a lot of the things that we spoke about before the game.
“Credit to Gloucester, they managed the game very well. I think they played a smarter game in terms of using their kicking and chose their points of when to be physical.
“I don’t think we problem-solved very well throughout the game. There’s a bit of frustration around our execution, but that’s all that's part of Academy rugby and we’ll be better when we return in October.”
FIRST HALF
It was a difficult opening half hour with neither side able to get any fluency in their play, and Saints were sent down to 14 players early following a yellow card for Hardy Linnell.
It took until the half-hour mark for the hosts to score the first points when they crashed over from a pick-and-go, followed swiftly after by their second following a chip-and-chase.
The fullback and captain Tomos Evans converted both tries for Gloucester, taking them into the break with a 14-0 lead.
SECOND HALF
It was the Boys in Green, Black and Gold who had the first try of the second period, following a lovely line break from Elijah Jeyes, who got the ball away to Goode to run it in for the try.
But the hosts hit back immediately after picking off an interception. They had two more before the final whistle with a pick-and-go try, and another snipe from the base of a five-metre scrum.
Saints’ Under-18s now have a short break in the PREM Next Gen league fixture schedule; they return in October when they face Sale Sharks on October 25 at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens.
LINE UPS
Gloucester U18: 15. Tomos Evans (c), 14. Kai Wilkinson, 13. Max Jefferies, 12. Mukeah Turay, 11. Finley Saycell, 10. Tommy Whorrod, 9 Luca Woodyatt; 1. Arjun Mann, 2. Teddy Smith-Milne, 3. Sam Bryant, 4. Jack Bennett, 5. Jamie Wallace, 6. Rakhat Clarkson, 7. Felix Baker, 8. Moses Tuliakiono.
Replacements: 16. Ned Holt, 17. Szymon Zuczkowski, 18. Charlie Mason, 19. Monty Jones, 20. Oscar Churchouse, 21. Theo Rogers, 22. Oli Hewitt, 23. Ieuan Jeffreys-Steel.
Saints U18: 15. Woody Hamilton-Hurst, 14. George Cooper, 13. Ashton Cox, 12. Cal Tarry, 11. Elijah Jeyes, 10. Hardy Linnell, 9. Jack Woods; 1. Lucas Veevers, 2. Ferdi Barnett-Vincent, 3. Noah Buxton, 4. Alex Mead, 5. George Tonga’uhia, 6. Will Hepher (c), 7. Reuben Williams, 8. Charlie Hammick.
Replacements: 16. Kingsley Gallimore, 17. Aiden Reid, 18. Ted Warner, 19. Ronan Perkins, 20. Caelin Chin, 21. Sonny Goode, 22. James Civil.
GLOUCESTER U17 10 – 26 SAINTS U17
Immediately following the PREM Next Gen league fixture was a friendly between Gloucester and Saints’ U17s sides.
Saints came away with a 26-10 victory, courtesy of a brace from James Ralston-Brown, and further tries from Jeremiah German and Alfie Tedbury.
