Under 16's beat wigan 34-14 today. Looks like another strong group coming through, only defeat so far was a game in which we fielded a team of u15's.

very heavy going under foot today but we looked far superior and stronger than wigan imo in all departments and that is the benchmark in academy rugby.

the side have lost 1 game but played a totally u15 side in that loss so things are looking very promising for the future

When they persuaded Joe Burton to turn back on Cas and sign, that was a surprise. He will be an international centre.

The halfs are significantly better than last years halfs now in 19’s.

Think liam tindall looks a terrific prospect aswel.

Burton looked sensational today and on a quagmire. The 16s look like a team that will be fantastic if the pitches ever dry out.

Interestingly Ellery Hanleys son played at 6 and full back for Wigan and scored but i don't think he's quite at his daddy's level.

I'd agree from what I've seen, both have great running and passing games

How does joe burton compare to newman and boadbent who'v been stand out at this level fairly recently?

Burton was an excellent fullback as well as centre, and continues to grow. Joe is the equal of Broadbent at same age, who is equally a super player. Both are/were better than Newman at same age, who is also a very good player. Not sure that answers you, but might put a smile on face

Seems we are getting back to the days where we are attracting quality players in every year. Excited for this lot of youngsters.

Anderson looks like a player for mine

The current u16's and u19's squads are probably the best group of players that the club has ever had since our golden generation.
There's going to be some very tough decisions to be made with regards to which players will be awarded contracts during the next few years as there are multiple players in each position who are all very talented and who will all make SL players elsewhere if not with us

What a great position to be in! Hopefully talent will be nurtured, sound decisions about retention made and we will see another Golden generation to entertain us for a decade or more.

Agreed. Theres some big decisions to be made at the end of this season with so many players off contract and so many talented youngsters waiting to progress, the likes of dupree, mcconnell and trout will be finishing there 2nd year in the 19's and may need to be tied down to pro deals and a first team squad number in order to keep them. Thankfully the club usualy get these things right.

Heard there’s some talent within the 15s too four or five played yesterday for the 16s against Wigan so agree people are getting something right within the structure . It’s an exciting time