2022 Euros Day 1 round-up

England had a positive opening day to the 2022 European Touch Championships in Nottingham.

Mens Open

After a tense opening match 5-7 loss to France, the Mens Open team went through the gears in matches two and three, overwhelming Belgium 24-0 – Hanno Roussouw leading the way with five tries, Kamil Shahabdeen close behind with four and Josh Henderson and Ben Grinter both adding hat-tricks.

The final game of the day was against Wales, and England maintained their momentum with an 18-1 victory over the old foes from across the Severn. Henderson got his second hat-trick in two games, with Dom Tripp and Charlie Thomson also crossing three times each, and Jon Weston-Stanley, Will Serocold and Meredith all grabbing braces.

Wednesday sees England take on Ireland, who went three from three on day one, along with Scotland, which is one of the fixtures to open up the second day of competition.

Womens Open

England top the table on tries scored from Wales, with both of the teams having won their two matches on day one.

England saw off Scotland 10-3 in their opener, and while it was relatively close at half-time – Emily Irons (2), Emily Bayliss, Emily Simon, Emma Oliver and Bronte Sykes helping England to a 6-3 lead – the host nation shut out the Scots in the second half, Irons completing her hat-trick, Sykes adding to her tally and Julia Unsworth scoring twice.

There was a similar scoreline against France later in the day, both halves won 5-1 for a 10-2 result. Irons and Sykes grabbed multiple tries for a second time, with Carly Wynn also notching a pair and Emily Rona-Roper, Lydia Ticehurst and Georgina McKavanagh crossing the line.

England play Wales, Ireland and Belgium on day two as they seek to consolidate their place in the table.

Mixed Open

It is a similar story between England and Wales in the Mixed Open, where a try differential of just three separates the two nations.

England opened up with a 16-4 win over Switzerland before hitting double digits a second time against the Netherlands, 13-2 the final result.

Ella Loveridge led the way against the Dutch with three tries, with Anna Crossley and Tom Lawton-Davies both going over twice. Meanwhile Jamie Ironside scored four against Switzerland, with Crossley, Harry Goldman, Dan Mayall, Matthew Maynard and Meghan Pemberton all crossing twice.

England play Italy and France on Wednesday.

Womens 27

The Womens 27 sit first in their table with three wins from three, with 33 tries scored and just the one conceded.

The day opened with a 14-0 shutout of Wales. Jo Devine scored a hat-trick and there were two-try outings for Isobel Thomas, Rose Willoughby, Rachael Keane and Anna Wilson, with Lucy Snape, Niki Bird and Rosie Kells rounding out the scoring.

Willougby and Keane also scored two each in the second match, a 9-1 victory against Switzerland. Devine and Snape added to their individual tallies and Alissa Grant-Walker, Sallianne Buttsworth and Eleanor Pitcher all opened their account.

The team hit double digits in their final game of the match, putting 10 tries past Spain without reply. Keane completed an excellent personal day with her third brace, Nicola Marsh also scored two, with Willoughby, Kells and Bird notching another try each and Jamie Cone, Sadi Musson and Katy Fielding making it 15 players getting on the scoresheet during the course of the day.

England has a top-of-the-table clash with Scotland on day two, as well as a challenging game against third-placed Ireland.

Mens 30

The Mens 30 have only the one game on Wednesday, but it will be a cracker against a French outfit which also won two from two on day one to keep the teams separated by tries at the top of the table.

England had a good day to work through their phases, with Tom Davies (3), Charlie Newton, Doug Maltby (both 2), Byron Tibbitts, Neil Hennigan, Colin Scott and Richard Jones all scoring one apiece in an opening 11-4 win over Switzerland.

This was followed by a 20-0 shut-out against Luxembourg. Newton crossed four times, Dan Wines scored a hat-trick, Steve Holland and Scott grabbed a brace, and Tibbitts, Hennigan, Jones, Davies, Stuart Bussell, Toby Williams, Jason Limerick, Nathan Bourke and James Herd all scoring one.

Mixed 30

The Mixed 30s’ campaign opened with an all-English clash between the national team and the Lions. It was a close encounter, which the senior team won 9-5 – Meghan Clayton (2), Brent McDougall, Sean Macdonald, Chris Wall, Dan Powell, Louise Carr, George Hedley-Miller and Victoria Franks scoring for England, Richard Moody (2), Martin Bunn, Marcus Evans and Tom Simpson replying for the Lions.

England followed this up with a 6-3 win over Scotland, Clayton (2), Wall, Macdonald and Carr being joined on the scoresheet by Peter Bowyer, while the Lions shrugged off their opening loss with a 10-7 win over France.

England and the Lions will go head-to-head again on day two, with England playing France and the Lions facing Scotland in their other matches.

Womens 35

England top the table courtesy of two strong wins over Wales (9-1) and Scotland (14-1).

Olivia Jones scored five tries during the course of the day, three against Wales and two more against Scotland, while Jen Palmer and Kylie Hutchison both crossed twice against Wales and Sue Ellen-Godde, Lois Lau and Leah Cuthbertson grabbing braces against Scotland.

The other try scorers were Vicky Tomlinson and Nollaig Quinn, who scored in both matches, with Sammie Phillips and Claire Davis scoring against Scotland.

England play Ireland, Wales and Scotland on day two.

Mens 40

Ben Blackburn scored five tries against Jersey in the Mens 40’s 11-1 win over Jersey, the second of the team’s two wins on day one.

The team opened with a 9-4 success against Wales, with Campbell Allen and Liam Lawton scoring twice each and Ruez Durrani, Matt Hall, Christian Prinsloo, Matt Mahoney and Dan Lewis all crossing once each.

With Blackburn dominating the scoring against the Channel Islanders, the other try scorers were limited to one apiece, namely Allen, Hall, Prinsloo and Mahoney joined by Joseph Hartley and Zhayne Nel on the scoresheet.

England has just the one game on Wednesday, but it is a toughy against the competition’s other in-form nation, France.

Mens 45

An unbeaten day one sees England on top of the table with three wins from three.

Kingsley Maunder’s pair was joined by scores from Jeff Sue, David Williamson, Simon Cooper, Adrian Williams, Lloyd Hook, Mike Roa, Ken Pollard and Bill Lees in a 10-7 win over Wales.

Then Cooper added two more, Pollard one, and Lee Thompson, Alex Berger and Brian Sibthorp one each in a 6-4 win over Scotland.

The day finished with a 9-3 win over Switzerland – Tim Stoller (3), Williamson (2), Roa and Hook joined by Paul Bunce and Simon Quarshie on the scoresheet.

Portugal and France provide the opposition on Wednesday.

Mens 50

The Mens 50 are top of the table after two wins on day one.

An 8-1 win over Wales was comfortable in terms of the scoreline, with Christopher Davies and Mark Hobson crossing twice and Simon Witton, Andy Verney, Ian Moody and Mark Elliott all going over once each.

The second match was a much tighter affair against Singapore, during which England only led by a try or two for long stages. But when the hooter sounded Ryan Anglem’s hat-trick and further scores from Verney and Moody had a 5-2 win in the bag.

England play Ireland and Wales on day two.

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