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England Touch announces Under-20 coaches for World Cup cycle
England Touch has today announced the Girls 20s and Boys 20s Head Coaches that will guide the teams through to the 2021 Youth Touch World Cup in Manchester.
Leah Cuthbertson has been appointed the Girls 20s Head Coach. An experienced operator within the High Performance set-up, she has represented England at multiple international tournaments and led the Mixed 18s to Junior Touch Championship Gold in Paris last summer. She is also the Assistant Coach for the Mixed Open team that will be heading to Nottingham for the 2020 European Touch Championships.
Jeff Bimson is the Boys 20s Head Coach. He is also a familiar face in the High Performance pathway as the long-time Assistant Coach of the Men’s Open team at the European Touch Championships, the 2019 World Cup and 2018 NSW State Cup. He also represented England at several Touch World Cups and multiple other international tournaments.
Both Leah and Jeff coached the England Lionesses and Lions teams at the 2019 European Touch Challenge Trophy in Spain and will be involved both in the Junior High Performance programme throughout the winter and then leading Lions and Lionesses teams to the 2020 All Schools in Brisbane, Queensland.
“Leah and Jeff are very experienced and successful players and coaches so there was no hesitation in appointing them as the Head Coaches of these new teams within the High Performance pathway,” said High Performance Director Ben Powell.
“The 20s categories are important stepping stones from the junior categories into the Opens squads, and we’ve got a lot of exciting talent who will be relishing the opportunity of playing both at the All Schools and then at the Youth Touch World Cup.
“There’s also the incentive of performing well on home soil in 2021, and Leah and Jeff will get the teams into the best possible shape to take on the likes of Australia and New Zealand.”
Planning for the 2020 All Schools has begun already, with England taking Lions and Lionesses teams to Australia, subject to the ever-changing Coronavirus. Teams will be announced in due course.