Northampton Saints Academy coaches James Craig and Will Parkin have named their Under-18s side to face Worcester Warriors at Franklin’s Gardens this Saturday (kick-off 2pm).
Falling to Sale Sharks in the last round of the Premiership Rugby U18 League, Saints’ youngsters will be looking to bounce back this weekend as Worcester come to town.
And running out at Franklin’s Gardens for the second week running, Craig and Parkin have loaded the side with promising Under-17s players as they make five changes to the starting line-up that ran out against Sale last weekend.
“We’ve decided to give a few of the Under-17s and one of our Under-16s a go this week,” Craig said. “For their long-term development it’s going to be awesome for them to have that kind of exposure to the game at an early age.
“We as an Academy coaching group think it’s important that those lads are exposed at the right time and we think all the guys who’ve been selected this week are more than capable of making the step-up and giving a good account of themselves.
“We played Worcester in pre-season and unfortunately we lost out, but I think we’re confident that we’ve developed a lot as individuals and as a team so we’re looking forward to facing them again.”
The U18s will take to Pitch 1 at Franklin's Gardens this weekend, with attendance to the fixture completely FREE to all. Parking is available via Abbey Street, with Car Parks A, B and C open to the public.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS U18s v WORCESTER WARRIORS U18s
Saturday 11 January, 2020
Franklin’s Gardens (Pitch 1)
Kick-off 2pm
15 Egan Brosnan
14 Louis Martin
13 Tom Litchfield
12 Ethan Grayson
11 Dani Long-Martinez
10 Matt Arden
9 Jake Garside
1 Josh Cilia
2 Callum Burns
3 Jake Bridges
4 Tom Charter
5 Emeka Atuanya
6 Tom Heslop
7 James Chalk
8 Geordie Irvine
Replacements:
16 Finn McCartney
17 Aston Gradwick-Light
18 Olliy Frostick
19 Tom Lockett
20 Lochlan Brown
21 Brad Crane
22 Josh Bull
23 Jed Jenkins
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