England International Touch returns with Anglo-Welsh fixtures

England Touch returns to international action this weekend when both the men’s 40s and men’s 45s squads take on their Welsh counterparts in the rugby heartland of Pontypridd on Saturday 24^th July.

Both the 40s and 45s will play two capped test matches, before the 40s also take on a Barbarians team in an uncapped final match. The test matches form part of the International Series between England, Scotland and Wales, with fixtures across Open’s and Seniors categories to follow in the Autumn.

Commenting on the return to international action, England High Performance Director – Ben Powell said:

“It’s been an extremely long time since we competed at an international level and it’s great to be able to finally get back. We’ve been planning the International Series for some time, but the continued uncertainty has meant it’s been extremely difficult to confirm things. I am delighted that we can finally get things underway this weekend.

Ben added: “I would like to personally thank the Wales Touch Association for hosting us this weekend - it is fantastic to have such quality opposition so close to us. I would also like to thank Gary Reynolds and the Federation of International Touch for making the long-awaited return to international touch possible.”

The last international touch fixture played by an England team was in October 2019, when men’s and women’s representative teams participated in the European Challenge Trophy in Alicante. The last fully capped matches were the Junior Touch Championships in Paris in August 2019 and the World Cup in Malaysia in May that year.

The World Cup marked the last meeting between the two nations at 45s level, with Wales beating England 5-3. Prior to that, England beat Wales twice at the Euros in Nottingham in 2018.

At 40s level, the teams haven’t met since that Euros, with England coming out on top twice, including a narrow 8-7 victory in the semi-finals.

We wish both the England Men’s 40s and England Men’s 45s the best of luck this weekend with a number of first international caps for some athletes. We are also celebrating Niall Buggy and Gene MacDonald making their international debuts as Head Coaches.

The England squads for the clashes this weekend at Llantwit Fardre Rugby Football Club, in Pontypridd are as follows (*denotes first cap):

England Men's 40s - Test Match v Wales
1	Campbell	Allen*	Oxford
2	Joseph	Hartley	Oxford
3	Mark	Knight	BBR
4	James	Mallick	Oxford
5	Aaron	Chan	CSSC London Eagles
7	Erik	Williams	Galaxy London
8	Matthew	Hall	Nottingham
9	Semisi	Cocker
10	Christian	Prinsloo	Surrey Bisons
11	Gregg	Cropper	Manchester Chargers
12	Jonathon	Irwin	CSSC London Eagles
13	Dale	Bright	Green+Gold
14	Travis	Kenny	Cambridge
16	Ben	Blackburn*	Banbury Saxons
17	Daniel	Dyer*	Canterbury
20	Stuart	Block	Green+Gold
0	Liam	Lawton	Chester Cheetahs
18	Matthew	Jaynes	Cheltenham
6	Zhayne	Nel	Galaxy London
19	Russell	Kelleway	CSSC London Eagles
COACH	Gene	MacDonald

England Men's 45s - Test Match v Wales
2	Simon	Cooper	Norwich Rebels
3	Joshua	Bingley	Norwich Rebels
6	Shane	Wilson	Bournemouth
9	Soul	Phoenix	Nomads
10	Philip	Walton	Surrey Bisons
11	Lee	Thompson	Thames Valley Vikings
13	Michael	Roa	Galaxy London
14	Chris	Holt	Chester Cheetahs
16	Ken	Pollard	Nottingham
17	Brett	Milligan	Green+Gold
19	David	Williamson	Green+Gold
20	Kingsley	Maunder
21	Richard	Saunders
22	Jeff	Sue
23	Bill	Lees
27	Richard	Balmer	Thames Valley Vikings
28	Adrian	Williams	Catterick
30	Mark	Jensen	Ross on Wye
31	Lloyd	Hook
33	Paul	Bunce
COACH	Niall	Buggy