Northampton Saints U18 side return for their final PREM Next Gen Academy league fixture of 2025 as Sale Sharks visit Shelford Rugby Club on Saturday (25 August, kick-off 5:30pm) with the U17s kicking off in a friendly for a 7:30pm kick-off.
The young Saints opened their league account with a victory over Exeter Chiefs, followed by defeat in Round 2 away to Gloucester.
Noah Buxton starts again at tighthead, joined by Aiden Reid and Kingsley Gallimore. It’s an unchanged second row of Alex Mead and George Tonga’uiha, and the back row remains the same of Rafferty Hewitt and Will Hepher, with Jack Lewis at No.8 Jack Lewis.
Hugh Shields captains the side from fly-half in an unchanged half-back pairing with scrum-half Jack Woods.
Callum Terry is joined in the centres with Sonny Goode, and it’s all change in the back-line with Charlie Tamani and Will Howes coming on the wings and Hardy Linnell at fullback.
Charlie Utting, Lucas Veevers, Connor Wright, Ronan Perkins, Archie Ball, Kai Fisher and Elijah Jeyes are all set to come off the bench and make an impact for the final time in 2025.
On the fixture against Sale, U18s Head Coach Charlie Reed said: “We always know that Sale bring a real physical edge. They have been a stalwart within the academy system for a long time. So, being able to deal with things physically will always be a starting point when playing Sale.
“And then defensively, very similar messages, how hard are we working? Are we at a good point where we're really hustling for each other, and are we dominating collisions like we’ve seen in previous games, so hopefully those things come into fruition.”
Northampton Saints U18s vs Sale Sharks U18s
PREM Next Gen Academy League, Round 3
Saturday 25 October, 2025
Kick-off: 5:30pm
15. Hardy Linnell
14. William Howes
13. Sonny Goode
12. Callum Tarry
11. Charlie Tamani
10. Hugh Shields (c)
9. Jack Woods
1. Aiden Reid
2. Kingsley Gallimore
3. Noah Buxton
4. Alex Mead
5. George Tonga’uiha
6. Rafferty Hewitt
7. Will Hepher
8. Jack Lewis
Replacements:
16. Charlie Utting
17. Lucas Veevers
19. Connor Wight
20. Ronan Perkins
21. Archie Ball
22. Kai Fisher
23. Elijah Jeyes
Immediately following the U18s fixture, the U17s will play in a friendly against Sale Sharks with a 7.30pm kick-off.
Northampton Saints U17s vs Sale Sharks U17s
Friendly
Saturday 25 October, 2025
Kick-off: 7.30pm
Saints U17s: 15 Benjamin Bullen, 14 Jeremiah German, 13 William Catley, 12 Finlay Shields, 11 Tommy Karpanos, 10 Kai Manson, 9 Neal Tuladhar; 1 Toby Seaman, 2 Issac Mills, 3 Ben Jones, 4 William Higgins, 5 Seb Dare, 6 Oscar Wells, 7 Jordan Johnson, 8 Harry Nath.
Replacements: 16 Ike Ihenacho, 17 Oliver Surley, 18 George Glenn, 19 Archie McHarg, 20 Will Hart, 21 Howie Barnett-Vincent, 22 Massimo Rapps, 23 Giovanni Panariello, 24 William Watkins, 25 Toby Gotts.