Academy team news: U18s name side to travel to Gloucester

Exeter Chiefs Academy have named their U18s side to travel to Hartpury College to face Gloucester Rugby in the last Defender PREM Next Gen fixture of the calendar year.

Hooker Theo McKay once more captains the side which includes players from Exeter College, Truro College and Blundell’s School. The academy’s last runout was a close 31-26 victory over Leicester Tigers at the Centre for Rugby in August.

Assistant academy manager Marc Dibble said: “A one off game is always a difficult one to prep for, so we have kept it about ourselves and making sure we are comfortable playing the brand of rugby we have been working on since we last played in August.

“Our last outing, we put in a solid performance. We are looking to kick on from that and build on the solid foundations we set.

“Gloucester are always a well-drilled outfit, so we are expecting and looking forward to a really tough contest.”

The teamsheet also includes England U18s players Jeremy Keys, Archie Guyver and twin brothers Jack and Will McIntosh all in the starting XV.

The Academy’s remaining four fixtures in the competition will all take place in January 2027. Two home matches, against Bristol Bears Academy [2 January] and Northampton Saints Academy [19 January] and two away against Yorkshire Rugby Academy [9 January] and the regular season finale against Bath Rugby [23 January].

Full fixture information for the Academy can be found on our website here.

The U18s kick-off at 13:00 this weekend while the U17s will also be in action, in a friendly against their Gloucester Rugby counterparts at 15:30.