Northampton Saints Under-18s head coach Charlie Reed has selected his first line-up of the 2025/26 season, as the boys in Black, Green and Gold host Exeter Chiefs this weekend to get their PREM Next Gen Academy League campaign underway.
Saints were crowned league champions last season after beating Bath 31-14 in the final at Kingsholm.
They kick-off their new season as defending champions at cinch Stadium at Franklin’s Gardens on pitch 2 on Friday (15 August, kick-off: 1:30pm). The match is free to attend to come and see the next generation of Saints talent.
Out of the matchday squad, Lucas Veevers, Ferdi Barnett-Vincent and Reuben Williams are the three players with Academy League experience, meaning there are exciting opportunities for new players to step up and pull on the Black, Green and Gold shirt.
Under the new league format, all 11 clubs will compete in a single national league, with each side playing four home and four away fixtures.
Qualifying rounds will be staged across August, October, January and February, culminating in the PREM Next Gen Finals Day on the weekend of February 21-22.
Northampton Saints U18s vs Exeter Chiefs U18s
PREM Next Gen Academy League, Round 1
Friday 15 August, 2025
Kick-off: 1:30pm
15 Harvey Linell
14 Woody Hamilton-Hurst
13 Will Howes
12 Cal Tarry
11 George Cooper
10 Kai Fisher
9 Jack Woods
1 Lucas Veeres
2 Ferdi Barnett-Vincent
3 Noah Buxton
4 Rafferty Hewitt
5 George Tonga’uiha
6 Will Hepher (c)
7 Reuben Williams
8 Charlie Hammick
Replacements
16 Kingsley Gallimore
17 Louie Dufty
18 Ted Warner
19 Connor Wright
20 Ronan Perkins
21 Caelin Chin
22 Elijah Jeyes
23 Matthieu Gegui
Immediately following the U18s fixture, the U17s will play in a friendly against Exeter Chiefs with a 3pm kick-off.
Northampton Saints U17s vs Exeter Chiefs U17s
Friendly
Friday 15 August, 2025
Kick-off: 3pm
15 Kai Manson, 14 Finn Westley, 13 Joshua Miller, 12 Will Tierney, 11 Jeremiah German, 10 Giovanni Panariello, 9 Riley Curtin; 1 Dylan Hooper, 2 Charlie Utting (C), 3 Ben Jones, 4 William Higgins, 5 Oscar Wells, 6 Harry Nath, 7 Charlie King; 8 Toby Seaman
Replacements: 16 George Simmonds, 17 Charlie Grimsey, 18 Eddy Burton, 19 Toby Price, 20 Jordan Johnson, 21 Ike Ihenacho, 22 Bailey McNess, 23 Harry Carter, 24 James Egan, 25 James Ralston-Brown.
