REPORT | Northampton Saints U18 20-26 Warriors U18

Under 18s produce stunning comeback to complete first win of season

BY OLI HIGGS

Warriors Under 18s produced a fantastic second-half comeback to defeat Northampton Saints 26-20 in the Premiership Rugby Under 18 Academy League at Bedford RFC on Saturday afternoon.

Saints had built a 20-5 lead when the impressive prop Jack Hughes crossed for his second score early in the second-half, but Warriors fought back with three unanswered tries towards the end to secure their first win of the season.

The young Warriors took an early lead when full-back Noah Heward broke from the halfway line, evading a number of defenders in the process, before wing Ollie Gould was on hand to finish off the move.

Saints soon replied however, when a perfectly-weighted crossfield kick saw the hosts bought down just short, and after going through the phases, Hughes crossed for his first score. Saints converted and added another penalty to lead 10-5 after 25 minutes.

Both sides battled to gain the upper hand, but were frustrated by mistakes with neither team taking full control despite periods of promising play throughout. Louis Jackson, Rob Lester and Gould especially looked dangerous for Warriors in attack.

It was Northampton who took advantage on the verge of half-time though, when Fraser Thompson barrelled over from close range to extend their lead to 15-5.

Warriors must have feared the worst when Hughes finished well in the corner shortly after the break, stretching Saints’ lead to 15 points. Adversity seemed to motivate Worcester though, who then produced a stunning final half-hour.

Suddenly, offloads began to stick, penalties went their way and their patterns of play were more accurate.

The comeback began when lock Tom Fawcett produced a sensational offload to put Warriors close and after some patient phase-play, Gamble scored.

Having previously turned down kicks at goal, Jake Leonard converted from out wide and the score was then 20-12.

As Warriors used their bench, the tide turned further as replacement prop Lewis Holsey burst through a tackle on the 22 and sprinted to the line to touch down. During his cameo, Holsey made a number of strong runs and after Josh Phipps converted this score, Warriors were just one point behind the hosts.

Warriors then broke from their own 22 with Gamble and the ever-impressive Heward combining to put Tom Williams over the line.

But the ref adjudged Heward to have knocked on as he gathered his own kick, as Warriors were made to wait for a winning score.

Once again, Warriors made their way into Saints’ 22 as Phipps and Paul Wells combined effectively. A probing kick was taken back over the tryline by a Saints defender, leaving Worcester with a scrum five metres out with just minutes remaining.

The travelling Warriors support were not disappointed, as Worcester carried hard in midfield before quickly sweeping back on the blindside and Gamble scored in the corner with Phipps knocking over the extras.

As Saints restarted, all that was left for Warriors to do was safely secure the ball and send it out of play. They completed both tasks with ease, sealing an impressive second-half comeback.

Warriors were much improved from their loss to Wasps in the season opener and coaches and players alike will be confident moving on to their tie with Yorkshire Carnegie at Sixways next Sunday 14 January.

Timeline
09m | Gould try 0-5
13m | Hughes try 5-5
13m | Creighton con 7-5
23m | Creighton pen 10-5
35m | Thompson try 15-5
40m | Hughes try 20-5
43m | Gamble try 20-10
44m | Leonard con 20-12
59m | Holsey try 20-17
60m | Phipps con 20-19
68m | Gamble try 20-24
69m | Phipps con 20-26

Warriors | 15 Noah Heward, 14 Charlie Gamble, 13 Rob Lester, 12 Paul Wells, 11 Ollie Gould, 10 Louis Jackson, 9 Jake Leonard; 1 Tom Furnival, 2 Jamie White, 3 Max Baggs, 4 Tom Fawcett, 5 Aaron Lawes, 6 Oli Thorneywork, 7 Will Higgins, 8 Morgan Monks.

Replacements | 16 Aaron Layton, 17 Lewis Holsey, 18 Lewis Ballinger, 19 Tom Berry, 20 Ben Turner, 21 Tom Williams, 22 Josh Phipps, 23 Jed Corbett

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