Leicester Tigers face a trip to Sale Sharks in the second round of the U18 Academy League on Friday (January 5, 3.30pm).
The academy kicked off the season with a thrilling 31-31 draw with local rivals Northampton Saints in the league opener before Christmas and academy manager Dave Wilks is keen for the team to push on against Sale.
Wilks said: “Our match against Saints was a really high quality, physical match and I was really pleased with the effort and intensity from our players. A draw was probably a fair result but with more composure I thought we could have won the game.
“We played with a lot of ambition which I was pleased with, in particular the energy at the end of the game to not settle for a draw.
“We started preparation back in August with a trip to Clermont Auvergne and have held joint sessions with the Loughborough University side in recent weeks.”
The Academy works closely with Brooksby Melton College in Leicestershire to support young player’s development on and off the pitch.
Wilks added: “Brooksby Melton College is proving a very good environment for young players as well as the other partner schools in our area. It is healthy to see players from a range of schools and colleges in our squad, with two of the players at Brooksby Melton College and playing in the club’s development side.
“Looking forward to the trip to Sale Sharks, our lads can’t wait to play again to be honest. There is plenty to work on so that we can hit the high benchmark we know we can.”
This fixture is being played at Manchester Met University, Platt Lane Sports Complex.
Leicester Tigers Academy (v Sale Sharks away)
15 Freddie Steward (Norwich School)
14 Zack Godfrey (Stamford School)
13 Will Poland (Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School)
12 Ronnie Du Randt (Denstone College)
11 Luke Phoenix (Langley School)
10 Sam Costelow (Oakham School)
9 Will Yarnell (Loughborough Grammar School)
1 Keston Lines (Wyggeston & QE College)
2 Jamie Harding (Denstone College)
3 James Whitcombe (Woodhouse Grove School)
4 George Martin (Brooksby Melton College)
5 Cameron Jordan (Oakham School)
6 Xander Purcell (Wyggeston & QE College)
7 Taylor Gough (Wyggeston & QE College)
8 Henri Lavin (Wyggeston & QE College)(c)
Replacements
16 Finlay Gibson (Brooksby Melton College)
17 Alex Maxwell (Brooksby Melton College)
18 Joe Latham (Wyggeston & QE College)
19 Ollie Ashworth (Langley School)
20 Sam Eveleigh (Leicester Grammar School)
21 Jack Van Poortvliet (Oakham School)
22 Jonny Law (Rugby School)
23 Andre Dunn (Langley School)
