England Under 15 and Under 13s claimed their fifth titles in a row at the 2024 Five Nations Team Championships.
England’s Under 15s recorded a perfect week as they powered their way to 20 wins from 20 matches in the round-robin event, while the England Under 13s claimed a hard-fought 3-2 final-day victory over France to defend their title.
The final round of matches in the Under 15s event saw the two leading teams, England and France, come face to face.
But it was England Under 15s who proved too strong for their opponents, with English Junior champion Harriet Broadbridge, Ali Khalil, who finished third at both the British Junior and England Junior Championships, and English Junior runner-up Gabriel Chak sending the tie beyond doubt with three victories. The final two matches saw Bucks Silver winner Ameerah Ismail and British Junior champion Luke McBride also claim wins in their respective matches.
Meanwhile, the England Under 13s encounter against the undefeated French team proved to be a tighter affair, with three of the five matches going all the way to a deciding game.
Euan Thompson, who finished runner-up at the Pontefract Gold, and English Junior champion Esther Chak got the tie off to the perfect start with a pair of straight game victories, before Chichester Silver winner Nadiya Ismail claimed a remarkable comeback from 2-0 down to eventually win her match 11-9 in the fifth.
The final two encounters of the event saw English Junior champion Alex Koa-Wing edged out 11-9 in a dramatic fifth game, and Oscar Brown – the current Warwick Gold champion and youngest player to feature in the squad – fall to a narrow defeat after forcing a deciding game from 2-0 down.
Commenting on the successful title defences, England Head Potential Coach, Adam Fuller said: “All the players were fantastic throughout the event. They really pulled together and worked as a team, supporting each other throughout.
“It was great to see some of what we’ve done during the season paying dividends, and there have been some fantastic learning experiences for all of the players this week.
‘I’m very proud of all their achievements and look forward to the European U17 and U15 Team Championships in Porto next month.”