Northampton Saints’ Under-18s return to play their opening PREM Next Gen Academy League fixture of 2026 on Saturday (3 January, kick-off: 1pm), facing off against East Midlands rivals Leicester Tigers before the Under-17s play the same opponents in a friendly match (kick-off: 3pm).
The young Saints enter the new year with two wins out of a possible three in the Next Gen competition, sitting fifth in the league standings.
Will Catley makes his PREM Next Gen debut at centre alongside Ashton Cox, with Sonny Goode moving to fly-half and captaining the side.
He’s paired with Jack Woods at scrum-half, while the back three is unchanged with Will Howes, Charlie Tamani and fullback Hardy Linell selected in the starting line-up.
There’s one change to the front row that faced Sale Sharks back in October, with Ferdi Barnett-Vincent in at hooker. Rafferty Hewitt pairs George Tonga’uiha in the second row, and Ronan Perkins comes in at blindside flanker with Will Hepher and Jack Lewis swapping numbers on the back of their shirts.
Amongst the replacements, there’s a potential debut for back Fin Shields, with three other changes on the bench as Kingsley Gallimore, Charlie Hammick and Caelin Chin get the opportunity to impress.
Ahead of the derby match, U18s Head Coach Charlie Reed said: “Tigers are a physical side. They’ve got two really strong half-backs, who have been very, very good for them. I think it’s a great opportunity for our boys to bring a bit of emotion to the game.
“Obviously, everyone loves an East Midlands Derby, but we need to play the way that we want to for as long as we can. And think if we do that, we’ll put ourselves in a great position.”
Leicester Tigers U18s vs Northampton Saints U18s
PREM Next Gen Academy League, Round 4
Saturday 3 January, 2026
Kick-off: 1pm
15 Hardy Linnell
14 William Howes
13 Will Catley – PREM Next Gen Debut
12 Ashton Cox
11 Charlie Tamani
10 Sonny Goode (c)
9 Jack Woods
1 Aiden Reid
2 Ferdi Barnett-Vincent
3 Noah Buxton
4 Rafferty Hewitt
5 George Tonga’uiha
6 Ronan Perkins
7 Jack Lewis
8 Will Hepher
Replacements:
16 Kingsley Gallimore
17 Lucas Veevers
19 Connor Wight
20 Charlie Hammick
21 Caelin Chin
22 Fin Shields – PREM Next Gen Debut
23 Elijah Jeyes
Immediately following the U18s fixture, the U17s will play in a friendly against Tigers with a 3pm kick-off.
Leicester Tigers U17s vs Northampton Saints U17s
Friendly
Saturday 3 January, 2026
Kick-off: 3pm
SAINTS U17s: 15 Harry Carter, 14 Finn Westley, 13 Tommy Karpanos, 12 Joshua Miller, 11 Alfred Tedbury, 10 Kai Manson, 9 Fred Oliver; 1 Toby Seaman, 2 James Slater, 3 Ben Jones, 4 William Higgins, 5 Archie McHarg, 6 Seb Dare (c), 7 Howie Barnett-Vincent, 8 Oscar Wells.
Replacements: 16 Charlie Utting, 17 Dylan Hooper, 18 George Glenn, 19 Oliver Bloomfield, 20 Will Hart, 21 Jordan Johnson, 22 Neal Tuladhar, 23 Giovanni Panariello, 24 Malachy Renihan, 25 Harvey Fisher.