Northampton Saints today confirm that eight talented youngsters are set to join the Club’s Senior Academy set-up for the 2025/26 season.
Jack Lawrence, Archie Appleby, Siep Walta, Edoardo Todaro, James Pater, Henry Lumley, Freddie St John and Aidan Pugh will all join up with the men in Black, Green and Gold in the summer after signing their first professional contracts.
Seven of the group played roles in Saints’ Under-18 side this season, reaching a fourth successive Premiership Rugby Academy League final before being crowned champions, defeating Bath back in February at Gloucester’s Kingsholm Stadium. Pugh is the exception; he lined up against Saints for Bath in that fixture, but makes the switch between the two clubs this summer.
Todaro featured in all of Italy’s matches in the Under-20s Six Nations while Pater, Lumley and Appleby played for England in the Under-18s Six Nations Festival. Meanwhile Walta has been capped by the Netherlands in the Under-18s Rugby Europe Championship.
“As a whole they have been really good people to work with which is the first thing that I look for,” said Academy Head Coach, Charlie Reed. “Characters that are very self-driven, want to improve, and have learned ways to incrementally make themselves better rugby players.
“A few of the boys have been recognised with international honours, some of them have been around camps, and I am really looking forward to getting them in and getting them amongst the senior squad environment.
“They have driven their own development and I am excited for what they can do down the line.”
Charlie Reed, Academy Head Coach
“Some hard conversations were had at the end of the Academy league block, and for me personally I want to judge our Academy on the people that we release. To make sure that they still had a good experience within our pathway and make sure that they have a Plan B to move onto, and they feel well supported in that space.
“Something we have tried to drive is firstly the character element. We want boys who are going to be emotionally mature enough to go and settle into a senior professional environment, and also a willingness to really compete from the get go. I think the players we’ve signed have really epitomised that throughout their time within the Junior Academy.
“Our aim is to try and make their transition as seamless as we possibly can. We have had a little bit of exposure with the senior environment this season, so they’ve got a taste for it already and, so far, they seem to have taken to it well. It is an exciting group, which is full of authenticity, which I really like!
“It is relatively common that players who get contracted will say they had a great time in the Academy because they ended it with a contract. Through the conversations we’ve found out some of the other lads have got really good Plan Bs in place to kick on, still play rugby and still go into other things.”
ARCHIE APPLEBY (SECOND ROW)
Originally from Suffolk, where he played for Hadleigh RUFC, second row Archie moved to Sedbergh School at the back end of Year 10 and went on to become Head Boy, following in the footsteps of Saints Director of Rugby, Phil Dowson.
His leadership qualities were recognised with the Under-18 Academy captaincy, however a neck injury prevented his participation in the Academy League this season. But he has subsequently returned to fitness and played a prominent role for England Under-18s.
Reed said: “Archie is extremely sociable, very extroverted character, who wants to get to know the people and get to know people and feel comfortable in the environment he is in.
“He makes people feel welcome, there’s a real sense of driving the other people around him, and he has been an exceptional leader. Even when he was injured with his neck throughout the Academy League, he was at every game, trying to help the coaching staff as much as he could.
“He has been a fantastic role model for people coming through and someone who I feel will add a great deal to the senior environment as well.”
JACK LAWRENCE (SECOND ROW)
Jack was primarily a footballer up until year nine of school, until he joined Saints Academy at the Under-15 age group, having attended Comberton College and then sixth form at St Joseph’s College.
Following an injury to Appleby during the Under-18 Academy League campaign, Lawrence stepped up into captaincy role and lifted the trophy following the victory over Bath earlier this year.
Reed said: “Jack has done a lot of his development off his own back away from our training environment, as he wasn’t originally an EAP player that we provided outreach for.
“He is the definition of a grafter and is very diligent on his individuals, and very diligent on his strength and conditioning away from us. He epitomises what ‘hard work pays off’ means and hopefully that is something he can translate pretty quickly into this environment.
“He has been outstanding and a great leader. He is someone that just wants to go and compete at every opportunity, and is someone I have really enjoyed working with.”
HENRY LUMLEY (CENTRE)
Originally with Bury St Edmunds RFC, Henry has consistently played for Finborough School and has experienced in multiple positions, progressing from scrum-half to fly-half before finding his home in the centres.
Lumley, who joined Saints at Under-14 level, played for Hamilton Boys last summer in New Zealand and has earned a couple of caps for England Under-18s before a back injury hampered his involvement in the most recent Six Nations.
Reed said: “Henry’s distribution and defensive understanding are his key points of difference. As a character is one of the most mature of the group. He is emotionally intelligent, he is a self aware individual, and seems to really adapt to each environment he has been in, in a positive way. Very much someone who takes things in their stride, very present minded.
“He’s had some misfortune, he was selected for the Under-18s Six Nations and then had to fly home with a back injury. He played their friendly game against Ireland but missed the Six Nations – I am sure that is something he will try and achieve in future, but for now I am looking forward to what he can do next year.”
JAMES PATER (FULLBACK)
Pater joined Saints’ Developing Player Programme (DPP) as an Under-16 before exploding onto the scene at the Rosslyn Park 7s for Leys School, where he was the top try scorer across the whole tournament.
Originally with Shelford RFC, Pater’s progression at Northampton has seen him become an Academy League winner as as well as a regular for England Under-18s. This has been followed by caps for his country at Under-19s level too.
Reed said: “James got a playing opportunity with our DPP, and was quality when he came onto our radar. Since he came into the Academy his training level consistently got better.
“He has always been blessed with height, and has consistently punched above his weight and has now had the opportunity this year to represent England Under-18s in the Six Nations, and then go onto represent England Under-19s against Japan and Scotland as well.
“James is an all-round good footballer who is fantastic at beating people and is an exciting kick returner.”
AIDAN PUGH (SCRUM-HALF)
Having been a casualty of London Irish’s demise in 2023, Pugh made the switch to Bath Academy and played against Saints in the Under-18s Academy League final earlier this year as a replacement.
Alongside his progress at the Somerset club, Pugh has tasted senior rugby as a 17-year-old at National League 2 side Henley Hawks, featuring in 18 of their fixtures during the 2024/25 season. He now makes the switch to Saints to join the Senior Academy ahead of the new season.
Reed said: “What really struck me about Aidan was that he went to a non-rugby playing school. Aidan didn’t settle, didn’t just rely on his Academy activity. He wanted to go and get the best rugby exposure he could. He took himself down to Henley Hawks and as a 17-year-old has played National 2 rugby in the men’s senior game already, it’s great that he has that experience under his belt.
“He knows what a senior environment looks like. He showed great resilience when London Irish folded, and had to go down a different pathway. That character is something that really drew me to him and made me want to get to know him.
“I am really a fan of these rugby players who take different journeys. It grows them as characters, and it gives you that extra drive to want to be better through different routes. Aidan is someone who will be at Loughborough University but also contracted with us, and I am looking forward to getting to know him and welcoming him into our environment as quickly as possible.”
FREDDIE ST JOHN (CENTRE)
The former Oakham School pupil is another of this year’s intake whose sporting prowess stretches beyond just rugby. His cricketing skills saw him progress through the Leicestershire CCC age grades before heading down to Clifton College in Bristol on a rugby and cricket scholarship.
Reed said: “Freddie is extremely professional and very diligent with his communication. The way that he reviews games and talks about his game is ahead of his age.
“He has been a good powerful 12 for us, also with great ability to be able to move the ball. The maturity he has shown across his Under-18 period, to balance his academics, being away out of our catchment, and then also represent us in the way he has done in the Academy, has been exceptional.
“The Academy League final was a great example; he didn't train with us for two weeks and he didn’t play any rugby due to revising at Clifton, and his next bit of rugby was the final. He can flick a switch and he is exciting for the future.”
EDOARDO TODARO (CENTRE / FULLBACK)
The Milan-born back has continued to make big strides on the international stage, playing for Italy at Under-18 level when aged only 16, before playing all of his country’s Under-20 Six Nations games a few months ago.
Edoardo’s journey with Northampton Saints started with his mother commenting about her son’s rugby prowess on a YouTube video post by Ipswich School coach Andrea Pozzi, that led to Edoardo joining the school at the start of Year 10. His involvement with Italy Under-20s has given the talented back eligibility for a sporting visa to progress into the Senior Academy.
Reed said: “Edoardo’s story is exceptional. I am really looking forward to him getting the appropriate challenge that he needs to kick on with his development. He is someone who has played first team rugby at his school since the age of 15, I think it is now important that he trains with these players of the quality that he is going to get week in, week out, to see how good he can get.
“He played fullback continuously throughout Academy and school career, but Italy saw him more as a centre and we leant that way as well, so he has played in the centres for us too. He can go pretty much across the backline and it’ll be interesting to see where he lands.”
SIEP WALTA (BACK ROW)
Not many Senior Academy players can list playing time in New Zealand on their rugby CV, but that is the case for Dutch forward Walta.
He arrived at Ipswich School from his homeland in Year 10 before spending time continuing his rugby education with Christchurch Boys’ High School, an establishment that lists All Blacks Dan Carter, Will Jordan and Andrew Mehrtens amongst its alumni.
Alongside playing a key role in Saints Under-18s’ title winning season, Walta has progressed from Under-18s honours for Holland and is now within his country’s Under-20s set-up. He joins the Senior Academy on a university contract at Loughborough.
Reed said: “Siep was originally a very lightweight inside centre and managed to build his way up to a 103kg No.8. He’s gone from strength to strength with us and Holland.
“He was off the charts this year for his tackle and carry count, and the amount of turnovers he gets. His contact skills are something that has really stood out. Siep is explosive, has the ability to beat people, is very good around his collisions and he adds a really good physical edge to any team he is involved in.”
