Bath Rugby has officially named its Under-18 squad for the 2026/27 PREM Next Gen League season. The young Blue, Black and White have a strong recent history, having been crowned champions in the 2023/24 season and reaching the final of the age-grade competition in three consecutive campaigns. Last season, they narrowly missed out on retaining the title, losing by a close 38-36 margin to Bristol Bears in the final.
The squad’s season will kick off on Wednesday, 5 August, with a match against Newcastle Red Bulls U18 at Malvern College, commencing at 15:30. This opening fixture forms part of a rugby festival involving six matches held at the Worcestershire-based school.
Following this, Bath Rugby will travel to Gordon’s School to face Harlequins U18 on Saturday, 15 August, with kick-off scheduled for 14:30. Their first home game will take place at Chippenham RFC on Saturday, 22 August against Northampton Saints U18, starting at 13:00.
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Bath will then embark on a series of away fixtures, playing Bristol Bears U18 at the end of October, before matches against Gloucester Rugby U18 and Leicester Tigers U18 in January. The group stage will conclude with home games against Saracens U18 on the weekend of 16 January (kick-off to be confirmed) and Exeter Chiefs U18 on Saturday, 23 January, kicking off at 12:30.
The semi-final and final are set for the weekends of 13 February and 27 February respectively, with locations and kick-off times yet to be confirmed.
The squad features a total of 57 players, comprising 31 forwards and 26 backs. Notably, former Bath Rugby U18 players Max Hooper, Declan Treacey, and Alex Yeabsley have all secured Senior Academy contracts as of June 2026. This continues Bath Rugby’s tradition of successfully progressing talent through their academy pathway, which has also developed senior team players like Josh Bayliss, Tom Carr-Smith and Tom de Glanville.
Bath’s coaching team remains consistent, with Luke Charteris, Ryan Davis, Mark Lilley, and Louis Messer returning to guide the squad once again.
Craig Lilley, Bath Rugby’s Head of Academy, shared his thoughts ahead of the season:
“We are looking forward to a second season under the highly competitive structure of the Defender PREM Next Gen League.
This competition challenges our young talent against teams from across the country, not just our regional rivals, giving them the opportunity to adapt, grow, and compete in new environments. This variety is exactly what we want our players to be exposed to in their development journey.
The boys have been working extremely hard in pre-season and are ready to showcase their talents on the pitch. Every member of our staff has played their part in ensuring that the environment created is one where our players can thrive, and we are now looking forward to seeing the lads enjoy themselves, play hard and represent the Blue, Black and White with pride.”
Bath Rugby U18 Squad for 2026/27
Hookers: Max Edwards (Millfield School/Dings Crusaders RFC), Doug Lemon (Marlborough College/Marlborough Rugby Club), Malachi Randolph (Harrow School/Maidenhead RFC), TJ Shearer (Purbeck School/Swanage & Wareham RFC), Henry Sui (Beechen Cliff School/Salisbury RFC)
Props: Matteo Donzelli (Eton College), James Eldridge (Wellington College/Maidenhead RFC), Noah Harding (Beechen Cliff School/Chippenham RFC), Jack Hobbs (Beechen Cliff School/Royal Wootton Bassett RFC), William Jordan-Willis (Radley College), Josh King (Beechen Cliff School/Chippenham RFC), Theo Lewis-Zdybel (Beechen Cliff School/St. Mary’s Old Boys RFC), Miles Wilson (Millfield School/Cranbrook Rugby Club), Archie Winterburn (Beechen Cliff School), Lucas Whitlock (Peter Symonds College/Havant RFC)
Second Row: Max Carter (Kingswood School/Chippenham RFC), Byron Crow (Reading Blue Coat School/Rams RFC), Oscar De Gruchy (Boundary Oak School/Winchester Rugby Club), Ben Loosemore (Beechen Cliff School/Bishopston Rugby), Lex Vrettos (Canford School)
Back Row: Ben Allen (Wellington College/Havant RFC), Caspar Balby-Welsh (Beechen Cliff School), Will Dawson (Bryanston School/Bournemouth Rugby), Georgia Faosiliva (Hartpury College), Charlie Greenhough (Beechen Cliff School/Bath RFC), Filippo Hurrell (Wellington College/London Welsh RFC), Zachary Kelly (Peter Symonds College/Portsmouth RFC), Morne Lane (Peter Symonds College/Winchester Rugby Club), Zachary Leach (Wellington College/Battersea Ironsides), Ewan Ross (Beechen Cliff School/Oldfield Old Boys RFC), Sam Tillier-Wood (Beechen Cliff School/New Milton RFC)
Scrum-Halves: Oscar Harrison (Marlborough College/Marlborough Rugby Club), Lawson Horler (Beechen Cliff School/Windsor RFC), Milo Powell (Kingswood School/Chippenham RFC), Jack Thorpe (Wellington College), Seb Tomey (Peter Symonds College/Ellingham and Ringwood RFC)
Fly-Halves: Rupert Jones (Millfield School), Piran Moran (Beechen Cliff School), Zach Nicholson (Cheltenham College/Marlborough Rugby Club)
Centres: Aston Barrington-Hibbert (Millfield School), Hamish Kennedy (Radley College/Radley Rugby Club), Will Kemp (Beechen Cliff School/Chippenham RFC), Henry Middlehurst (Millfield School), Naibuka Rabuli (Beechen Cliff School), Ivo Rees (Canford School), Savenaca Turagabeci (Beechen Cliff School/Royal Wootton Bassett RFC)
Outside Backs: Charlie Day (Kingswood School/Chippenham RFC), Jacob Goatham (Millfield School), Jordan Ifil (Beechen Cliff School/Cricklade RFC), Harrison Lane (Seaford College), Tom Meredith (Beechen Cliff School/Winchester RFC), Alfie Walker (Beechen Cliff School), Oli Beckly (Sherborne School), Will Catt (Marlborough College/Marlborough Rugby Club), Freddie Corbett (Wellington College/Henley Hawks), Deacon Cullum (Beechen Cliff School/Newbury Rugby Football Club), Louis Derwent (King Edward’s School).