Whilst the senior Tigers may be struggling to find their feet on the field so far this season, the Leicester Tigers U21s team are looking very strong. Currently at the top of the table, they remain unbeaten in their first seven fixtures including a win over the league winners for the last three seasons - Bristol Shoguns.

Dusty Hare is currently assisting the young Leicester squad alongside their Academy Manager, Andy Key. Despite
their loss to Leicester, the Shoguns U21s sit in 2nd place and hope to build on the success they have had over the last few years which has helped give them a strong reputation for Bristol at this level.

At the other end of the table, Worcester won their first game this weekend against London Irish. Worcester are playing in the league for one season on a temporary basis in the place of Leeds Tykes who will return to the league next season when the club starts bringing players through to U21 from their U19/20 squad. Saracens have a very young team this season and have struggled so far against the stronger sides, recently losing 77-8 to Bristol.

The U21s premiership is now in its fourth season and is proving to be a successful breeding ground for the senior sides. Rhys Oakley made his debut for the senior Shoguns side last weekend and was named Heineken Man of the Match whilst Harry Ellis, Olly Smith, Sam Vesty and Lewis Moody have all in the last couple of seasons progressed from the U21s to the full Tigers team.
Howard Thomas, Chief Executive of Premier Rugby, says: "The U21s Premiership is a crucial contributing factor to the continued success of the English clubs. The premiership clubs are committed to playing in the tournament and the level of competition remains high.With some of the country's leading up and coming players involved, it is a fantastic means of developing and identifying new talent for the Zurich Premiership."