High Performance Training Squads announced for European Touch Championships 2021

England Touch is setting sights on a successful 2021 European Touch Championships with the announcement of the initial High Performance Training Squads.

The premature conclusion to the 2020 High Performance programme has given the whole HP team the opportunity to review, consolidate and improve as England looks to maintain its place as the top nation in Europe and build towards a competitive World Cup in 2023.

All of the players who were already in the High Performance squads have been retained, with a number of additional players introduced into the groups, based on their past performances in the National Touch Series and at the Touch Nationals.

There will be three phases of training before the squads are reduced to the eventual teams of 16 who will compete in Nottingham next summer.

Although the lockdown is easing and a return to play becoming more likely, the High Performance training will begin online with two virtual camps in August and September.

Social distancing and government guidelines permitting, each category will then have training camps in October and November, with the full High Performance squad then coming together for the first time in January 2021.

The last few months have seen the England coaches participate in a number of online continuing development sessions to increase their knowledge and share best practice from across a range of sports. Athletes have also continued their learning via digital platforms and conference calls.

“’Project Re-Launch’ has been a huge success for the England Touch High Performance Programme,” says High Performance Director Ben Powell. “We have made the most of the time away from the field to engage our athletes and volunteers in online learning and CPD as well as going through an extensive process of talent identification across the Opens, Seniors and Masters divisions to add to the strength and depth of athlete that was retained from our 2020 national squads.

“We have learnt so much in this period and have had the time to implement significant strategy and infrastructure that will sustain us for the this abridged cycle not only in the Opens, Seniors and Masters divisions, but also our Youth Programme as well.”

There have been two changes in head coaches going into the next year. Travis Kenny and Simon Ince have chosen to concentrate on their playing, so Gene Macdonald has taken the reins of the Men’s 40 and Andy Sharpes joins the High Performance coaches to lead the Men’s 50 team.

“Andy has crafted his trade with Chester Cheetahs and Caldy Cougars in Touch, and also has a wealth of experience from coaching basketball for over 18 years,” added Powell. “We’re delighted to welcome him into the High Performance team and I’m looking forward to working with him.

“We’d like to thank Simon Ince and Travis Kenny for their time, effort and dedication as they put the cones away and put more of their focus into maintaining their playing careers.

“We are also very excited to announce the appointment of Russell Earnshaw as the Assistant Coach of the Women’s 35s. Well known for his international success in coaching in rugby, Russell is highly influential in coaching all around the world and we are looking forward to the experience and innovation he will being to the Women’s 35s and the entire High Performance Programme.”

In all over 335 players have been selected from 48 different clubs. CSSC London Eagles leads the way with 33 players overall and the Seniors/Masters representation, too, with 28. London Scorpions has the most number of players in the Opens categories.

Nottingham 2021 is set to be the biggest European Touch Championships ever, second only to the Touch World Cup in size and number of nations represented.

MEN’S OPEN

Head Coach – Tim Osborne

Asst Coaches – Jeff Bimson, Martin Wright

Mark Aldous (Galaxy London), Ewan Armstrong (London Scorpions), Matthew Bate (Chester Cheetahs), Oli Brassington (Nottingham), Adam Brimelow (NQ Rebels), Matthew Davis (Revolution), Ben Grinter (NQ Rebels), Josh Henderson (Thames Valley Vikings), Clark Hobson (Bareback Riders), Max Howard (Canterbury), Sam Jones (Hot Custard), Sam Lawton-Davies (Thames Valley Vikings), Angus Lister (Canterbury), Will Lupton (Nottingham), Oliver Maynard (Cambridge), Ben Meakin (NQ Rebels), Jordan Melling (Wigan Warriors), Vaughn Meredith (Canterbury), Evan Michaels (CSSC London Eagles), Sam Missin (Cambridge), Harry Missin (Cambridge), Will Murphy (Cambridge), Miles Partridge (Galaxy London), Toby Phillips (Wigan Warriors), Aaron Povall (Wigan Warriors), Hanro Rossouw (University of Exeter), Matthew Sandlant (St Albans), Will Serocold (London Scorpions), Kamil Shahabdeen (Bristol Jets), Henry Stratford (CSSC London Eagles), Zubin Tanna (CSSC London Eagles), Dom Tripp (London Scorpions), Jon Weston-Stanley (Thames Valley Vikings)

WOMEN’S OPEN

Head Coach – Ben Powell

Asst Coach – James Butcher

Sophie Arbuthnott (London Scorpions), Freya Aucken (O2 – London Scottish Red Lions), Emily Crowe (London Scorpions), Kate Davis-Bavin (Nottingham), Thea Dawson (Cambridge), Naomi Fearnett (CSSC London Eagles), Katy Fielding (Guildfordians), Alana Gauntlett (Crewe and Nantwich), Megan Green (Cambridge), Danni Gregory (Canterbury), Alison Hogg (Bareback Riders), Susannah Hudson (London Scorpions), Emily Irons (London Scorpions), Sophie Lloyd (Nottingham), Ella Loveridge (Nottingham), Hannah McLaughlin, Kensie McNaught (CSSC London Eagles), Lucy Morriss (Crewe and Nantwich), Sadi Musson (Nottingham), Flori Nasir (Canterbury), Lucy Norburn (Cambridge), Emma Oliver (Nottingham), Eleana Panayotou Ennes (University of Exeter), Amelia Paton (Crewe and Nantwich), Erin Payten (Cnterbury), Meghan Pemberton (University of Exeter), Haniyyah Rahman-Shepherd (Galaxy London), Emily Rona-Roper (Galaxy London), Emily Simon (Nottingham), Alice Summers (Canterbury), Bronte Sykes (London Scorpions), Lydia Ticehurst (Canterbury), Julia Unsworth (Galaxy London), Catherine Walker (Galaxy London), Olivia Walker (Wolves), Mia Watts (Cambridge), Nicola Wise (Chester Cheetahs)

MIXED OPEN

Head Coach – Justin Conway

Asst Coach – Leah Cuthbertson, Isabel Nixon

Teddy Brooks (London Scorpions), Victoria Chiu (London Scorpions), Keir Clark (Bristol Jets), Anna Crossley (NQ Rebels), Elizabeth Dorey (Oxford), Max Ducourneau (Raptors), Ben Geldart (London Scorpions), Harry Goldman (Hot Custard), Angus Gough (Hot Custard), Jade Grantham (London Scorpions), Isobel Hobson (Nottingham), Josh Ingram (NQ Rebels), Jamie Ironside (Galaxy London), Millie Jones (Crewe and Nantwich), Tom Lawton-Davies (Thames Valley Vikings), Ollie Lee (London Scorpions), Dan Mayall (Canterbury), Matthew Maynard (Cambridge), Bradley Murphy (Cambridge), Eliot Nye (Canterbury), Daisy Pank (University of Bath Hawks), Gabe Pennington (NQ Rebels), India Perris-Redding (Crewe and Nantwich), James Plimsoll (Hot Custard), Shane Scott (Galaxy London), Alive Sommerville (Hot Custard), Charlie Thomson (Raptors), Lauren Torley (Thames Valley Vikings)

WOMEN’S 27

Head Coach – Gary Lambert

Asst Coach – Sion Atkins

Meadhbh Aherne (St Albans), Becky Anderson (Thames Valley Vikings), Samantha Bell (CSSC London Eagles), Niki Bird (London Scorpions), Georgia Blessed (Yorkshire Thorns), Stacey Coffin (CSSC London Eagles), Jamie Cone (Cambridge), Eimear Conroy (Cambridge), Joanne Devine (Manchester Chargers), Carys Dunn (Horsham Tigers), Emma Garfield (St Albans), Emily Harding (Nottingham), Katherine Jones (Cambridge), Jennifer Jones (NQ Rebels), Rachael Keane (Bournemouth Lions), Sonya Lam, Jen Lee (Galaxy London), Sofia Luxton (Thames Valley Vikings), Charlotte Marr (Exeter), Nicola Marsh (CSSC London Eagles), Jessica Miller (Bristol Jets), Laura Mitchell (Oxford), Emma Mundy (Cheltenham), Eleanor Pitcher (Nottingham), Natasha Rose (Warwick), Claire Rylance (Revolution), Rita Shevchenko (Cheltenham), Bethan Siddall-Allen (Exeter), Lucy Snape (Nottingham), Hana Suzuki (Cambridge), Pamela Teager (Manchester Chargers), Alice Tozzi (CSSC London Eagles), Abigail Walters (Nottingham), Alexandra Willis (CSSC London Eagles), Marnie Wills (Galaxy London), Anna Wilson (Cambridge)

MEN’S 30

Head Coach – Matt Harper

Asst Coaches – Will Gillett, Jay Zebbie Johnson

Matt Allpress (Green and Gold), Callum Benson (Cambridge), Douglas Benzie (Galaxy London), Nathan Bourke (Galaxy London), Peter Bowyer (Manchester Chargers), Stuart Bussell (Galaxy London), Alasdair Clark (Chester Cheetahs), David Dernie (Nottingham), Ruez Durrani (Galaxy London), Mark Glendenning (Bristol Jets), Ashley Grimsey (Horsham Tigers), Tom Hall (CSSC London Eagles), Dean Hancock (Cambridge), Jordan Hankey (Wigan Warriors), Neil Hennigan (Yorkshire Thorns), James Herd (Guildfordians), Steven Holland (Bristol Jets), Tim Hughes (Oxford), Chris Jenner (Galaxy London), Richard Jones (Nottingham), Richard King (CSSC London Eagles), Alex Krikorian (St Albans), Dan Lewis (Cambridge), Jason Limerick (Thames Valley Vikings), Ben Linford (Bedford), Matt Mahoney (Exeter), George Miller (CSSC London Eagles), Duncan Richardson (CSSC London Eagles), Craig Samuel (O2 – Didcot), Colin Scott (CSSC London Eagles), Seongbeom Hong (South London), Oliver Sills (Cheltenham), Matthew Fitz-Gerald (O2 – Didcot), Byron Tibbitts (Bristol Jets), Gareth Weaver (CSSC London Eagles), Thomas Wells (Cambridge), Chris Whimpenny (Oxford), Toby Williams (Bristol Jets), Daniel Wines (CSSC London Eagles)

MIXED 30

Head Coach – Dan Powell

Asst Coach – Patrick Kearins, Ryan Attwood

Jonny Acheson (Manchester Chargers), Sarah Acheson (Manchester Chargers), Rachael Atkins (CSSC London Eagles), Adam Brodie (Bedford), Martin Bunn (Revolution), Louise Carr (Thames Valley Vikings), Jonathan Clark (Yorkshire Thorns), Fae Clerey (Hot Custard) Stacey Collins (Galaxy London), Jordan Crosse (Manchester Chargers), Jonathan Elkin (CSSC London Eagles), Fraser Florence (Cambridge), Victoria Franks (Cambridge), Natalie Grimsey (Horsham Tigers), Andrew Hammond (Oxford), Paul Humphrey (Peterborough), Tom Humphreys (Canterbury), Alexander Hunter (CSSC London Eagles), Glenn Jones (Cambridge), Amro Karim (Oxford), James Large (O2 – Wymondham), Brent McDougall, Ryan Miemczyk (Bareback Riders), Lucy Neal-Hooke (Thames Valley Vikings), Samantha Powles (Revolution), Keisha Raymond Blyth (CSSC London Eagles), Andrew Richmond (Cambridge), Kara Roberts (Bournemouth Lions), James Robinson (Manchester Chargers), Will Simpson (CSSC London Eagles), James Stewart (Norwich Rebels), Peter Strachan (Yorkshire Thorns), Aaron Treagus (Cheltenham), Chris Wall (CSSC London Eagles)

WOMEN’S 35

Head Coach – Ed Budge

Asst Coach – Russell Earnshaw

Zoe Aubert (Thames Valley Vikings), Sarah Bellew (Manchester Chargers), Celestine Cheong (Hot Custard), Julia Cole (Thames Valley Vikings), Claire Davis (Revolution), Emilie Eve (Cambridge), Cathi Farrer (Bournemouth Lions), Aimee Findlay (Percy Park), Sue-Ellen Godde (Cambridge), Joelene Hughes (Oxford), Kylie Hutchison (London Scorpions), Kate Hyde (Nottingham), Olivia Jones (Revolution), Julia Kang (Manchester Chargers), Lois Lau (CSSC London Eagles), Ellen Lewin (Chester Cheetahs), Kate Mackay (CSSC London Eagles), Rebecca Maxwell (CSSC London Eagles), Jennifer Palmer (Bristol Jets), Zoe Parish (Nottingham), Sammie Phillips (Thames Valley Vikings), Danielle Powley-Williams (Thames Valley Vikings), Nollaig Quinn (Manchester Chargers), Beth Redfern (Manchester Chargers), Margaret Rees-Smith (Revolution), Louise Rickard (Cambridge), Sarah Rosenburg (Bristol Jets), Polly Ross (Guildfordians), Victoria Stevens (Bristol Jets), Vicky Tomlinson (Nottingham), Catriona Weir (Hot Custard), Elizabeth Williamson (Green and Gold), Suzanne Wilson (Canterbury)

MEN’S 40

Head Coach – Gene Macdonald

Asst Coaches – Marc Boyd, Travis Kenny, Mark Williams

Campbell Allen (Oxford), Alex Berger (Brighton and Hove), James Berkley (EY London Vipers), Ben Blackburn (Banbury), Stuart Block (Green and Gold), Dale Bright (Green and Gold), Darron Broadhead (Crewe and Nantwich), Aaron Chan (CSSC London Eagles), Semisi Cocker, Gregg Cropper (Manchester Chargers), Daniel Dyer (Canterbury), Matthew Hall (Nottingham), Joseph Hartley (Oxford), Alan Hubbleday, Jon Irwin (CSSC London Eagles), Matthew Jaynes (Cheltenham), Russell Kelleway (CSSC London Eagles), Travis Kenny (Cambridge), Bruce Kirby (Bristol Jets), Mark Knight (Bareback Riders), Liam Lawton (Chester Cheetahs), James Mallick (Oxford), Zhayne Nel (Galaxy London), Andy Penniceard (CSSC London Eagles), Christian Prinsloo (Guildfordians), Simon Quarshie (Revolution), Brian Sibthorp (Guildfordians), Tim Stoller (CSSC London Eagles), Jeff Sue (Galaxy London), Felix Tenbroeke (Thames Valley Vikings), Erik Williams (Galaxy London)

MEN’S 45

Head Coach – Niall Buggy

Asst Coach – Joseph Wright, Matt Watts

Paul Ainscough (Percy Park), Ryan Anglem (CSSC London Eagles), Richard Balmer (Thames Valley Vikings), John Banks (Percy Park), James Barnett, Josh Bingley (Norwich Rebels), Steve Bright (Chester Cheetahs), Niel Chambers (Camp Hill), Simon Cooper (Norwich Rebels), Lance Hetherington (Manchester Chargers), Chris Holt (Chester Cheetahs), Luke Hudson (Bristol Jets), Mark Jensen (O2 – Ross on Wye), Bill Lees, Jon Lovell (Cambridge), Steven Madden (Green and Gold), Kingsley Maunder, Brett Milligan (Green and Gold), Soul Phoenix, Jonnie Pinder (Yorkshire Thorns), Ken Pollard (Nottingham), Brian Prebble (Thames Valley Vikings), Mark Richings (Guildfordians), Mike Roa (Galaxy London), Richard Saunders, Lee Thompson (Thames Valley Vikings), Philip Walton (Guildfordians), Richard Willan (Nottingham), Adrian Williams (Catterick), David Williamson (Green and Gold), Shane Wilson (Bournemouth), Simon Witton (Green and Gold)

MEN’S 50

Head Coach – Andy Sharpes

Asst Coach – Mark Holmes, Craig Fielding

Trevor Allen, Ben Bernardo (O2 – Typhoons), Robert Byrne (O2 – Orrell), Mark Carlyon (St Albans), Neil Davies (O2 – Wymondham), Keith Dunleavy (Green and Gold), Mark Elliott (Horsham Tigers), Eddie French (Canterbury), Julian Gilding (Crewe and Nantwich), Iain Grisewood (O2 – Wymondham), Gerard Hargreaves (Percy Park), Mark Hobson (Nottingham), Simon Ince, Dunc Mascarenhas (Crewe and Nantwich), Martin Mascarenhas (Crewe and Nantwich), Magnus McArthur (Thames Valley Vikings), Ian Moody (Percy Park), Paul Nolan, James Norman (Bournemouth Touch Centre), Spencer Nye (Canterbury), Theo Oberholzer (South London), Federico Petersen (O2 – Chobham), Martin Reynard (Canterbury), Adrian Riggs (Canterbury), Ian Rowberry (Revolution), Tim Shields (Manchester Chargers), Ian Spencer (Cheltenham), John Tuite (Green and Gold), Andy Verney (O2 – Wymondham)